


take me back in time

by Spikely



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Cowboys & Cowgirls, English is not my native language, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Happy Ending, Hot, Kissing, Love, Modern OC, RDR2, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, Spoilers, Strangers to Lovers, Strong OC, TB? whats that?, Tags Are Hard, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), back in time, cowboy, everbody wants Arthur, everybody wants a happy Arthur, horsegirl, maybe John too?, retelling the story, smut later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2020-08-10 14:00:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 82,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20136601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikely/pseuds/Spikely
Summary: Sophie Kendall is somewhat transported back to 1899, where she found herself faced with the Van der Linde Gang. Will she get back? Or is she going to stay with them?What happens, if you know exactly what is going to happen? Maybe she is the key to not only save Arthur...





	1. time travelling for beginners

**Author's Note:**

> soooo, I had this idea in my head for a while now, we'll see how far it goes.  
I'm not a native english-speaker, so if you find any mistakes or spelling errors, let me know... gently please. :D  
If you like it, show it. I'm happy for every comment.  
:)

Well, I can’t quite tell you how it happened.  
I remember coming home after a long day at work, you see, I am, or was a teacher at high school.  
I loved my job, really did, still do I suppose. Always loved working with children, loved to teach them big and little things, sometimes even unnecessary wisdom though.  
That’s just how it is, I guess.  
So, I came home on Friday afternoon totally worn out, switched into something comfortable like black leggings and my beloved grey hoodie, started cooking for myself and ended up laying on the couch.  
My best friend from childhood called me just then, chatting a little about everything and nothing.  
“What about we play a round, hm?”, she asked me after some time.  
“Like what?”  
“Ah, come on. You know exactly what I mean, Soph.”  
Yeah, not gonna lie. We both were totally in love with Red Dead Redemption II. I used to play the first game back in the day but the second one was so much better, really.  
I just finished my third, or was it even the fourth playthrough? I can’t remember.  
“I have only one mission left, Elena.”, I told her, not really in the mood for RDR II right now.  
“Good, then finish this one and we’ll meet up online, yeah?”  
“Gosh, sure. If you insist upon it.”  
She laughed. “Sure do, girl. Kill Micah and then we go hunting some O’Driscolls of our own. See ya.”  
After a long heavy sigh I turned my PlayStation on, took my lovely green controller and started the game, like I’ve done so many times before.  
The end of the game always gets me. This was just so unfair, really. I hated it and loved it at the same time.  
After going through the last mission, let’s be honest, killing Micah is one of the best things ever, I watched as the credits roll over the screen, listening to the wonderful music.  
Totally exhausted, I went to the kitchen and got myself some coke. Looking out the window, I saw nothing but the dark sky, some trees, maybe even some flowers in the distance.  
See, I live outside of Dallas, way outside, in a small town called Wills Point. Just a little town in the middle of nowhere surrounded by meadows full of horses and cattle.  
My dad and I lived here from the day I was born, never moved. Even after his death I stayed here in our little house, got a job at the local high school and continued my absolutely boring life.  
Maybe that was the reason, who knows.  
I sat down on the couch again, smartphone in one hand scrolling through Facebook and then Instagram, controller in the other when I suddenly became so tired, I just literally fell asleep right there and then.  
That’s the last thing I remember before I woke up somewhere different.  
The first thing I noticed was the silence, apart from birds and some horses, I guess. No traffic noise, no cows, no planes, no neighbors roaming around. It was strange.  
The next thing was a gentle kick right above my knee. I flinched a bit and muttered to myself that, whoever it was, they should just let me sleep. I earned it at least.  
“What’chu got there, Summers?”, a deep voice asked.  
“I dunno. Look at her, she… well, she looks strange, doesn’t she?”, another voice responded.  
What the…?  
“Uhm, yeah...”  
I opened my eyes and closed them immediately, the sun stood high and dazzled me.  
Groaning, I lifted one hand to run it over my face, noticing that I lay with my back in the grass.  
“W-what happened?”, I asked a little hoarse.  
“You tell us, girl. What’chu doin’ here, anyway? How did you find this place?”, the second voice asked. In the back of my head something ringed, I knew this voice.  
I stood up way to fast, my head was dizzy but I didn’t really care.  
“Easy there, Miss. Don’t make me shoot you.”  
Two guns were pointed directly in my face but that was not exactly what bothered me the most, the fact that Micah Bell and Lenny Summers stood right in front of me, made my world spin.  
“What the fuck?”  
“U-uhm. Excuse me, Miss?”, Lenny asked a bit shocked.  
“Where am I?”  
“Well, you’re just outside of Valentine, Miss. We’re in a place called Horseshoe Overlook.”, Lenny explained confused. “How did ya get here?”  
“No no no no no… That isn’t possible. I was at home… I…”  
My head was nearly bursting, my thoughts running wild and crazy.  
“Miss… Miss! We need to know what ya doin’ here.”, Lenny addressed me again.  
“I have no fucking idea, Lenny!”, I spat out, not thinking what I was saying.  
Silence.  
Micah moved fast, his hand clasped around my throat making me back up and lift up my hands in a defensive way.  
“How do ya know his name?”, he rumbled in my ear.  
I nearly laughed but that wouldn’t have been smart, so I just stood there looking totally shocked and confused, which I actually was. He smelled bad, like he never really washed and I turned my head away in disgust.  
Lenny sighed behind the blond outlaw, one hand grabbing his shoulder.  
“Let her go, Micah. We’ll see what Dutch is gonna do `bout her.”  
After a few seconds, Micah let go of me, standing just inches away.  
“Don’t do something funny, girl.”, he snarled and I just nodded, unable to move.  
Micah was gone a bit later but Lenny sat right next to me on a big stone, his gaze going back and forth, watching me.  
I just sat there hugging my knees and staring out in the distance. It looked exactly the way it does in the game, every tree, every stone, every blade of grass was in his place. It was absolutely mind blowing.  
I still couldn’t believe it. This is just a dream, I’ll wake up soon and then I’m home again, in my bed, laughing about my current fear.  
But right now, it doesn’t feel like a dream. Not really. Everything was so real. The sun burned my skin, the wind played with my dark-brown hair and the air was full of different smells. Like the forest, the grass, horses, I even smelled the river nearby. It was stunning and frightening at the same time.  
“Lenny?”, I asked after some time.  
He jumped a bit. “Yeah?”  
“I know this sounds stupid but… w-what year is it?”  
His brown eyes searched mine and I couldn’t really blame him for his skepticism.  
“Last time I checked it was 1899, Miss.”, he replied quietly.  
“Jesus fucking Christ…”  
He chuckled a bit but remained silent after this.  
I can’t tell you how much time passed, until I saw some familiar horses and a bunch of wagons coming up the hill.  
Lenny stood up, relieved he could get rid of is guard duty soon and slowly approached Dutch.  
I recognized the head of the Van der Linde Gang immediately, his black hair, the dark brown eyes, the red and black vest, the black pants, even The Count looked the same.  
Lenny spoke with him before pointing in my direction, both heads following his index finger.  
“Oh, shit.”, I murmured to myself when Dutch slowly made his way over.  
Just in front of me he came to halt and reached down with his left hand, his eyes wandering all over my appearance.  
“Get up, Miss. We are not going to hurt you.”, he said, his low voice soft and smooth.  
I reached for his hand, surprised that it was warm and somewhat soft.  
How…?  
As I stood, I knocked off some dirt and Dutch followed my movements with his eyes. He smiled a bit as he scrutinized my clothes.  
“Why, I have never seen someone wearing this kind of clothing. Where do you get this from, Miss…?”, he asked in a friendly tone.  
I swallowed and looked down. I was still wearing my black leggings, grey Nikes and my… Oh shit.  
“If I wouldn’t know better, I would say that this man on your… uhm… shirt, looks like someone I know very well. But that doesn’t make any sense to me.”, he said thoughtfully.  
Dutch tilted his head a bit, one hand stroking trough his mustache.  
He was right though. Elena gave me this hoodie as a birthday present a few weeks back, for my twenty-eight’s birthday.  
As you can imagine, right in front of it was a picture of Arthur Morgan, dammit.  
Because, let’s be honest; everybody has a crush on this very handsome outlaw, right?  
“U-uh. You wouldn’t believe me, even if I would tell you the truth.”, I said shyly.  
His eyes stared at me for a moment.  
“Why don’t you go ahead and tell me your name first, Miss.”  
“S-Sophie… Sophie Kendall.”  
“Very well, Miss Kendall. My name is Dutch van der Linde, I’m… well, I’m the leader of this bunch of people here.”, he said with a hint of pride in his deep voice, pointing around him.  
My eyes searched the place, they looked like we’ve all seen them in the game but so real. It doesn’t make any sense.  
All of them eyeing me suspiciously, of course.  
“Where are you from, Miss Kendall?”, Dutch asked me.  
“Texas… Near Dallas.”  
“You’re far away from home, aren’t you?”  
I laughed ironical. “You’ve no idea…”  
As we stood a little offside the new campground, Dutch ordered around to get the new camp set up fast.  
Miss Grimshaw shooed everyone around, like we’ve met her.  
I was, well, I was confused and totally shocked but I just kept reminding myself, that I’ll wake up soon enough.  
“What exactly are you doing here, Miss Kendall?”, asked Dutch me, after a little while.  
Again, I chuckled a bit.  
“I have no clue, Mr. Van der Linde. I just woke up a few hours ago, I have no idea how I ended up here neither how, or if I’m able to get home…”  
“You’re sure something else, Miss. Do you have somewhere to go? A place to stay?”  
“Nope.”  
“If you’d like, you can stay with us. At least until you find something on your own or until you know what you’d like to do. We’re not that bad, Miss. If someone needs our help, we’ll do what we can to keep them safe.”, he said softly, meeting my gaze.  
I shrugged. I didn’t really have another opportunity so I nodded.  
“That would be great, I suppose. Thank you, Mr. Van der Linde.”  
He smiled. “Sure, Miss. Just switch into something else, will you? You’ll confuse the hell out of the others in this kind of getup.”  
I laughed awkwardly. “You’re right, I guess.”  
“Always am. Miss Tilly!”, he exclaimed the second part aloud.  
“Yes, boss?”  
I just couldn’t help myself and smile at the young woman while she approached us, who was even prettier in real life than in the game.  
Wait, real life?  
“Would you please take Miss Kendall here and give her some new clothes.”  
Tilly Jackson gave me a puzzled look up and down before she nodded.  
“Sure, Dutch.”  
“Very kind. Miss Kendall? We’ll speak later.”, Dutch said before leaving and strolling in the middle of camp.  
Tilly took my hand in hers, also warm and very soft.  
Have I mentioned how confusing this whole thing was?  
She led me through camp, followed by questioning looks from every side, until we came to a stop right beside the wagon where the women slept.  
Karen Jones and Mary-Beth Gaskill were roaming around, not noticing us until Tilly spoke up.  
“We need a dress for her.”, she said.  
They stopped in their movements, looking up.  
“Who is she?”  
“What?”  
Tilly sighed. “Dunno... Dutch told me to get her new clothes, that’s what I’m doing right now.”  
Jesus, that was odd.  
“Name is Sophie Kendall. I’m a little lost at the moment…”, I tried to explain myself, not going into detail.  
The women shared a curious look.  
“Okay then, Sophie. I’m Karen, this is Mary-Beth and this sweet thing next to you is Tilly.”, Karen said softly.  
“Hi.”  
They chuckled a bit.  
“Wait. Is that… A-Arthur?”, Mary-Beth questioned, pointing at my hoodie in surprise.  
“U-uhm…”  
“Doesn’t matter now. Slip it off.”, Karen said to her but the look she gave me was strange.  
“Where did you get this kind of clothes from, Sophie?”, Tilly asked curious.  
“Well, where I come from, these are totally normal.”  
See, that wasn’t even a lie, not particularly at least.  
“O-okay.”  
“Never seen something like that, before.”, Mary-Beth added.  
They chatted a bit while I stepped out of my clothes behind the wagon. I noticed the confused looks as they eyed my underwear, just a simple black bra with the fitting panties.  
“That’s… Well, that is really nice and odd.”, Karen said after looking a little bit too long.  
I blushed, reaching for the simple dress Tilly gave me, just a white blouse and a grey skirt. Nothing fancy but it will do the job.  
Karen folded my hoodie, stopped and reached in the front pocket.  
“What is that…?”  
I reached out and snapped my phone out of her hands.  
“Uhm, nothing.”  
How the hell is my phone here with me?  
I looked down at it, still running with eighty-eight percent battery left but with no signal, surprise.  
I put it in my bra, just like I did so many times back home while at a party or something like that.  
A loud sigh escaped my lips as I reached down to undo my favorite pair of Nikes, still watched carefully by the three women around me.  
This is all just dream, remember. You’ll wake up soon.  
Karen lent me some of her old shoes, black riding boots I guess, by far not that comfortable as my Nikes but I couldn’t complain.  
Tilly stored my few belongings in a little chest while Mary-Beth braided my messy hair into a lovely queue.  
I felt a little bit better after this warm treatment until Dutch showed up and accompanied me in the middle of camp, right in front of his tent.  
Everything was set up at this point and the whole Van der Linde Gang roamed around in it.  
“Folks. Listen up, please. We just found ourselves another lost soul, Miss Sophie Kendall.”, he exclaimed loud.  
Everyone’s eyes laid on me and I felt very uncomfortable.  
“She’s one of us, for now. So please, treat her with respect and kindness. She’ll earn her keep as everyone else does, for sure.”  
Dutch planted one big hand on my shoulder and I nodded automatically.  
“I know we had a rough time the last couple of weeks, but we’ll get better. You just need to trust me and we need to make more money. So, no more lazing around, get up and back to work! Everybody!”  
After his speech some members vanished while two familiar faces made their way straight up to Dutch and me.  
Oh my God.  
Blue-green eyes met mine, his stare relentless and hard.  
If you thought Arthur Morgan was handsome in the game, he’s even much hotter in reality.  
He’s tall, much taller than me, his broad shoulders blocking the sunlight, his three-day stubble framing his handsome face, nose slightly crooked, his lips pressed together in discomfort.  
He wore the outfit we all know too well; blue shirt, suspenders, dark jeans, black boots, black bandana and his unique hat.  
“What are ya doin’, Dutch?”, he asked in his low, husky voice.  
Hosea came to a stop right next to him, his gaze settling for a short time at me then back to Dutch.  
“We have enough problems on our own, remember?”, Hosea said firmly.  
Dutch just waved a hand at them while I shifted uncomfortably in my dress.  
“She needed help. We’re not going to shoo people in need away, Hosea. Just take a look at Mrs. Adler. Besides, there is something about her… I can’t quite put my finger on it but she may be useful.”  
Hosea groaned.  
“If you say so.”  
Dutch nodded in response.  
“I do.”  
“Good.”  
I blushed, fingers clawing at the skirt.  
Arthur gave me an intense look up and down, noticing my tenseness. He gave me a small nod and an even smaller smile before turning away and heading to his wagon, sitting down on the cot. He searched around in his satchel until he found his journal and began scribbling into it.  
I almost forgot Dutch next to me.  
“If you want, you can sleep with the ladies, Miss Kendall. I’m sure they’ll lent you a bedroll.”, he said while lighting up a cigar.  
“U-uhm… sure. Thanks.”  
“You’re welcome. If you need something, let me know.”  
I strolled through camp, glancing at all the unfamiliar and at the same time familiar faces, still unable to wrap my head around everything that happened the last couple hours. 

What am I going to do? How can I get home? What the fuck is happening to me?!


	2. first time out

That’s the situation I’m facing right now. In a world I don’t know, a period of time that is so different from everything I know back home.   
Hell, even my university degree means nothing here, all the hard work I’ve put in it, gone.   
I’m pretty sure women aren’t even allowed to go to university at all and that’s very depressing.   
I’m trying pretty hard to always remind myself that I will probably wake up soon and that this bullshit right here is just a dream, a very bad dream but that isn’t easy when everything around you looks so unbelievable real.   
But let’s be honest, there is no way that this whole thing is real.   
As far as I know, time travelling is just some good stuff for any kind of sci-fi movie and not possible yet.   
During the first night in camp I had so much hope that if I’m going to sleep, I’ll wake up at home, in my bed, in my house but it never happened.   
I’m still stuck here in the middle of one of the most dangerous groups of outlaws that America has ever seen.   
Ha, my daddy would be so proud.   
Although, they don’t really seem to be so nasty, most of them were pretty kind to be honest.   
Especially the women, they did their best to comfort me and keep me happy, except for Miss Grimshaw of course, she’s like the worst house dragon you’ve ever seen.   
After a few days I knew what my chores around camp were, like feeding the horses, doing the laundry, gosh, I’ve never missed a washing machine that bad, helping Pearson with the cooking, which is, by the way pretty gross, that kind of stuff.   
It was absolutely boring but that’s what women did back then.   
I tried to approach Sadie from time to time but she was still pretty flustered, crying all the time. It was hard to see but I kept my distance until she was ready to talk.   
Hosea was very pleasant to have around, he always reminded me a little of my dad so I enjoyed listening to his stories, talking every now and then.   
Being around Dutch was exactly the opposite, he intimidated the hell out of me, really did. Maybe it was the knowledge of what he was going to do, what man he will become later on in the game.   
I didn’t know but it affected my behavior around him a lot.   
Nobody seems to notice, maybe Dutch himself but he kept quiet about it.   
The other members of the gang were suspicious at first but after a few days, they got used to my presence around them.   
It was odd to say at least.   
In my mind I knew exactly that all of them are just video game characters, designed, fictional, but they looked and acted so fucking real, like normal human beings, just like me and you. I knew everything about them and I needed to pretend like I did not.   
One day, I nearly told Karen that Sean is supposed to die in the game but I stopped myself before I could tell her something, that maybe isn’t ever going to happen.   
I shouldn’t even have known who Sean is then, because he was still in Blackwater as a hostage as far as I remember. 

So, you see, I have a plan. A good one, not like the ones Dutch has.   
If I’m trapped here, which I currently am, I will try and make the best out of it.   
I know the game, I played it like three or four times, maybe I’m able to change some things.   
Hell, if this is my dream; I’m going to do whatever I want.   
But I need to be careful, not pushing to hard in one direction, this would look suspicious. 

I looked up from the pair of socks I was currently sewing as small footsteps waddled right next to me and came to a stop. I couldn’t help the smile forming on my lips eyeing little Jack Marston in all his childish demeanor, he was absolutely cute, so gorgeous.   
I had a soft spot for him, that’s for sure.   
“Hi there, Jack.”, I said in a friendly tone.   
Jacks little face lit up and he smiled widely.   
“Good evening, Miss. I got ya something…”, he said while reaching behind his back and handing me a small bouquet of wildflowers.   
“Oh my… Jack, these are so pretty.”, I said totally touched and overwhelmed by his lovely gesture.   
He chuckled lowly and grinned.   
“Uh-uh… I’m happy ya like them.”  
“Sure do, Jacky. Thank you very much.”  
I twirled them in my hands, studying the beautiful flowers one by one.   
“Ya welcome, Miss.”, he replied grinning from ear to ear.  
“You can sit next to me if you like, Jack.”, I told him, offering him my hand.   
He obliged after a quick glance to his mother, Abigail Roberts, who stood just a few inches away and nodded shortly. I gave her a small smile in return.  
Jack sat down with a loud bump, giggling like hell, releasing my hand after he sat comfortably.   
I smiled at him, missing my school kids back at home like crazy. Then a thought crosses my mind and I spoke up: “Jack, how is your reading going?”  
He shrugged a bit. “Slow, I guess. I’m not very good at it…”  
“Ah, nonsense. I can teach you if you’d like.”  
His brown eyes looked at mine reverently.   
“Really? How?”  
I couldn’t help my low chuckle. “See, Jack… I’m, well, I’m a teacher back home. I can teach you a lot of things if you want me to.”  
His eyes went wide. “A real teacher? Like in school?”  
“Yeah.”   
What else?  
His lower lip trembled a bit while thinking.   
“Why ‘re ya here then?”  
I sighed. “That is a good question, Jack.”  
After a few moments his face lit up again, standing up quickly he called over his shoulder: “I’m goin’ to ask momma ‘bout it.”  
I watched him running over to Abigail, talking with her, then she shooed him over to Hosea who came back to me with Jack in tow.   
“So, little Jacky told me you were a real teacher, Miss Kendall.”, he said amused.   
I just nodded. “Sure am, Mr. Matthews.”  
“That’s pretty pleasant, Miss. Jack is eager to learn everything he can, maybe we can negotiate a deal.”, Hosea suggested.   
“What kind of deal?”  
“Well, I know you need money, Miss. We all do, but I will pay you for teaching Jack. At least until you find out what other sort of jobs you’d like to do. How does that sound to you?”  
“Sounds perfect, Mr. Matthews.”  
“Call me Hosea, will you?”, he replied softly.   
I smiled at him. “Sounds perfect, Hosea. Please call me also Sophie, if you don’t mind.”  
The older man chuckled low. “I don’t mind, Sophie. If you need anything, like books or other stuff, just let me know.”  
“Actually, I do. I’d like to have some paper, pencils and a lot of books. Storybooks, children’s book, doesn’t really matter what kind.”  
He nodded. “Sure, I’ll see what I’m able to find.”  
“Thank you, Hosea.”  
Jack sat down next to me after Hosea left, his brown eyes searching mine. I couldn’t help myself and stroked trough his brown hair, rumpling those soft wisps.   
“When do we start, Miss?”, he asked a few moments later.   
“Is tomorrow to soon for you?”  
He shook his head under my touch.   
“Nah. Can’t wait…”  
I smiled down at him as a big shadow blocked the sunlight right in front of us.   
“Ya can’t wait for what…?”, a hoarse voice asked low and a slight shudder ran down my spine.   
I knew this voice to well.   
My eyes wandered upwards from black boots, over dark jeans, then over an old brown gun-belt with two pistols holstered, to a dark-red shirt, two buttons open at the collar, all the way up to grimly looking lips, streaked with a fresh nasty looking scar, fresh sewed scars all over the right cheek, black hair, to dark-brown eyes that looked down at me with in a mix of curiosity and distrust.   
John Marston.   
Everybody’s favorite outlaw.   
The golden boy.  
I had a hard crush on him back when I played the first game, that’s for sure and I must admit, he’s nearly as handsome as Arthur, but in a different kind of way.   
I gulped, totally flustered to meet him in person, if this even makes any sense at all.   
“Miss Kendall ‘s goin’ to teach me, Sir. She’s a teacher.”, Jack exclaimed next to me.   
John lifted one brow in disbelief, loading his weight on his left leg, one hand grabbing his holster while the other held a cigarette.   
“That so?”, he asked, puffing smoke in the air.   
“Sure is, Mr. Marston.”, I replied confidently.   
He gave me a curious look, up and down, slowly, way too slow in my opinion.   
“A lady teacher in camp… Incredible.”, he took a long puff on his cigarette. “Wait… How do ya know my name?”  
“U-uhm. Heard it from the others…”, I muttered.   
“Everybody knows yer name, pa.”, Jack said a little unsecure.   
John snapped instantly at him.   
“Don’t call me that!”  
Ah, now I remember why I didn’t like him that much in the beginning of the game, he’s an asshole.   
Jack leaned at my side, his face buried in my skirt and I gave him gentle pads on the back.   
Poor boy.  
I just wanted to flare up to teach him a lesson as another smooth voice spoke up next to John.  
“Calm yarself, Marston. No need to be like that.”, Arthur told him, grabbing him by the shoulder as a slight warning.   
I saw them both for the first time right next to each other and well, my poor heart just skipped some beats, that’s for sure.   
John was a little shorter than the older outlaw, slimmer to, not that muscular but nonetheless hot as hell, both men. Different like day and night in the looks and behavior, united by Dutch as brothers but still freaking lit.   
“But he’s…”  
“Shut it!”, Arthur commanded harshly and John snorted loud, turned and vanished between the tents.   
A heavy sigh escaped Arthur before turning back to us, hand scratching his neck.   
“Sorry for that. You alright, Jack?”, he asked.   
“Sure, Uncle Arthur.”  
“Good. I’m goin’ to take Miss Kendall into town...”, he said and I raised a brow.   
“Really?”  
His blue-green eyes, bluer in the sunlight, met mine when Jack stood up.   
“Okay... See ya tomorrow, Miss Kendall.”, Jack said cheerfully while heading to his mother.   
“Bye, Jack.”  
Arthur put one hand out for me and I took it, noticing his warm and rough skin against mine.   
His spurs made clinking noises with every step he took, leading me to his horse, the same we know all too well, stopping next to it.   
Uncle, Karen, Tilly and Mary-Beth sat on the wagon ready to take off and I recognized this mission in the back of my mind.   
“Don’t we drive with them into town?”, I asked the grumpy cowboy in front of me.   
“Not enough room for all of us.”, he simply explained.   
“So, I need to ride with you instead?”, I squeaked quietly before I could stop myself.   
Arthur let out an annoyed huff.   
“Don’t like it either...”  
Oh gosh.   
“Ya ever rode a horse, Miss?”, he asked over his shoulder while tightening up the saddle.   
“I’m from Texas, Mr. Morgan. Born and raised with horses and guns.”  
He chuckled a bit. “Good lord…”  
Arthur hopped on his horse first then he let go of the stirrup, holding out his left hand to hoist me up, if necessary.   
I sighed while putting my left foot in the free stirrup, reaching for his hand as he grabbed my forearm and simply pulled me right behind him onto the horse like I weighed nothing.   
A surprised gasp escaped my lips and I blushed a bit when he flashed me a small smile over his shoulder.   
“Ya better hold onto me, Miss.”, he said as he turned the horse around following the wagon.   
I sat with both legs on one side, because of that damn skirt and it was slippery in contrast to the normal way of riding a horse.   
So, I followed his advice clutching my hands in his blue shirt and I really tried, but there was no way I couldn’t notice the flexing muscles under the fabric, moving with every movement of the horse.   
I inhaled deeply, absorbing his unique scent; wood, forest, horses, tobacco and a little sweat.   
This was still a dream, right?  
His body radiated heat like an oven, seeping through the blue fabric right in my hands.   
We followed Uncle and the others into Valentine, Arthur was quite most of the time just observing his surroundings with caution, ready for a fight every moment.   
The women laughed, sang and chatted all the time, a constant bubbling background noise.  
It was my first time out of camp and I was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of this countryside. Nature was absolutely stunning, everything was so green, the fresh air, blue sky, the wildlife hiding behind trees and bushes.   
I had no clue where exactly in the US we were but that didn’t really matter now.  
Imagine sitting on a horse, no cars around you, hell not even a real road, just a path with dirt and sand and there are no traffic noises, no honks, no yelling at each other and no squealing tires.   
It was odd and enjoyable at the same time.   
When I looked up in the beautiful sky, there were no planes and no jet trails, just the endless blue and a few clouds.   
It scared the hell out of me.   
“Ya okay back there?”  
Arthur snapped me out of my thoughts, his torso slightly turned in my direction, blue eyes searching my face.   
“Sure… Just thoughtful, I guess.”  
“Thoughtful ‘bout what?”  
“Everything and nothing. But you wouldn’t believe me, even if I’d tell you the truth...”  
He chuckled low, deep in his chest.   
“No idea what ya talkin’ ‘bout, Miss.”  
“I know…”, I replied sadly.   
Nobody will ever understand what I feel right now, they just can’t. I’m not even sure if I can ever tell them the truth about me… probably not.  
“So… uhm, Hosea told me ya’re a teacher?”, Arthur asked in front of me and I sighed.   
“Yeah.”  
“That’s not very common, isn’t it?”  
“Well… where I’m from it is, Mr. Morgan.”  
I get much better with those not-exactly-lies.   
“O-okay... Why ‘re ya here then? I mean, if ya got a job and a life…?”, Arthur asked curiously.   
“I don’t know if I’m able to go back, Mr. Morgan.”  
That’s not even a lie.   
“Ya did something?”  
“Like what?”  
“Dunno… Shot someone? Robbed somethin’ big?”  
I laughed. “Ah, I see. Nope, Sir. My daddy was a cop, so I’m not very good in breaking the law.”  
Arthur froze for a brief moment.   
“A cop?”  
Oh shit.   
“U-uhm, yes. But he’s dead a long time now, so no worries.”, I explained quickly.   
To be honest; I think my daddy wasn’t even born yet and that thought is mighty disturbing.   
After a few moments he chuckled lightly.   
“A lady teacher with a cop-father, runnin’ with folks like us… That is… Jesus. Ya ever broke a law, Miss?”  
“No... Although, I had some speeding tickets once but…”  
“Speedin’-what? The hell yar talkin’ ‘bout?”  
Crap.   
“E-ehm… If you go way to fast with your… u-uhm… horse, you can get a ticket back where I’m from.”  
“A ticket?”  
“Yeah, you need to pay for it. Price depends on how much your velocity was.”  
“Yar velo-…? What? I dunno what that even means!”  
He gave me a baffled look over his shoulder and I couldn’t help my short laughter.   
“Doesn’t matter. Apparently, they don’t do it here so just forget what I’ve said.”  
“Ya…”, he paused for a short moment. “Dutch’s right, ya’re sure somethin’ else, Miss.”  
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
“I dunno ‘bout that…”, Arthur murmured low.   
After Arthur caught the runaway horse and brought it back to the man with the wagon, we continued our way to Valentine.   
The small town was full of busy people and it smelled like shit, really did. Livestock was their main business down here and you could smell it miles away.   
While Karen, Mary-Beth and Tilly went separate ways, I stuck together with Uncle and Arthur, paying the general store a visit.   
“Ya need anythin’, Miss?”, Uncle asked me after his little amusing fight with Arthur.   
“I do… But I got no money, Sir.”  
Guess my bank account at home isn’t useful round here.   
“Ah, don’t worry, girl. Arthur can lend ya somethin’, right boy?”, Uncle addressed him playfully and he shrugged.  
“Sure. I can lend ‘er my horse and everythin’ else, too.”, he replied ironically.  
I rolled my eyes, huffing in annoyance.   
“I just need a pair of pants, maybe a new shirt and a toothbrush, that’s all I’m asking for, Mr. Morgan. I’ll give it back to you as fast as possible, okay?”, I told him as calm as I could.   
Arthur strolled trough the store, back turned in my direction.   
“Fine.”  
The clerk was friendly, at least until I wanted him to show me some riding pants, which was apparently obnoxious for women back then.   
But in the end, I got a new black pair of trousers, a dark-green blouse and even a little toothbrush, all for just ten dollars. The clothes were a little itchy, oversized, rough and I missed my hoodie so bad, but I gotta get through this.  
The man gave me an odd look by the time I went back out but I just ignored it, not my problem.   
That was stupid and there was no way I’d wear a dress and a skirt all the time, no-no.   
“Suits ya.”, Uncle commented simply.   
“Thank you kindly, Sir.”  
Arthur just gave me a long up and down, before leaning back against the wall and taking a short nap.   
I entertained myself with his horse, the red-brown-white stallion was sweet, nibbling at my hands, begging for treats.   
I always loved horses, got some back in my youth, even competed in some classes, like Reining and Trail. My dad had horses, too, the only mounted police officer of Wills Point.   
I scratched the little spot right behind his ears, earning small hums out of the strong animal.   
It was a weird feeling to know exactly what would happen next and I watched as Mary-Beth spoke with Arthur, making him immediately heading to the hotel to save Tilly and Karen.   
The encounter with Jimmy Brooks happened soon after, only change; Arthur addressed me to wait for him, the others got back to camp.  
While I waited for him to return, I laid eyes on Thomas Downes. The Thomas Downes who will change Arthurs fate forever, without even knowing it.   
But this time I’m here and I’m not going to let that thing happen again.   
I approached him slowly, examining his appearance; dirty, sick, pale.   
“Are you Thomas Downes, Sir?”, I asked him in a friendly tone.   
He nodded, bloodshot eyes looking at me. “Yes, Miss.”  
“Listen… I know this sounds crazy, but don’t accept that loan Mr. Strauss is willing to offer you. You’re going to die before you’ll be able to pay everything back and your wife and your son will have to do it for you. It won’t be nice, so; don’t.”  
Thomas Downes stared at me in shock and disbelief.   
“H-how…? Who are you?”  
“I just know. Don’t question it.”  
He coughed long and deep, not a very nice thing to hear and it reminded me of the end of the game, how Arthurs health is slowly falling apart.  
“U-uhm… okay then, Miss. I’ll think ‘bout it.”, he replied after his heavy cough ended, still confused.   
“Good.”  
I wasn’t sure if he meant what he said, so I need to check and make sure as soon as Arthur will get the job to collect the debts from Strauss.   
Speaking of which, he came back on a buckskin colored horse, stopping in front of me.   
“New horse?”, I asked him, knowing that in the game, he only borrowed it.   
Arthur snorted, dismounted and tossed me the reins over.   
“Nah, she’s yours now.”  
“W-what?”  
That’s not the way it’s supposed to go.   
“Ya need a horse ‘round here, trust me.”  
“B-but… You just stole it, right?”  
He chuckled. “Nope, paid the man for her. Ya owe me twenty-five bucks now... I would never steal for ya, cop-daughter.”  
His tone was downright ridiculous but the gesture was nice, I guess.   
“U-uhm… Thank you?”, I replied, still a little taken aback.   
“Don’t mention it.”  
The buckskin American Standardbred mare nibbled on my hands, sniffing me up and down, her ears flicking back and forth. She was cute, healthy and strong.   
Arthur watched without a comment until he handed me an apple.   
“Give it to her. A lady always likes something sweet.”  
I laughed loudly. “Sure... Food is always the key to a woman’s heart.”  
“I wouldn’t go that far, but… yeah. Yar probably right.”, he replied amused.   
The mare ate the apple thankfully, a little whinny escaping her muzzle and I smiled at her, not really believing that she was mine now.   
“Ya should probably head back to camp, or do ya need anythin’ else?”, he asked after some time.   
I looked up at Arthur, his blue eyes searching mine.   
“Nope. Are you going to meet Javier and Charles at the saloon?”  
He cocked his head in surprise, oh-oh. I shouldn’t have known that.   
“Euhm, yeah... Actually, I do.”, he said warily.   
I mounted my new mare quickly, adverting his gaze.   
“Don’t let yourself get caught in a bar fight, Mr. Morgan.”, I said while turning the horse.   
“A bar fight?”  
“M-hm… Just saying.”  
“Sure, whatever ya say... See ya, Miss.”, he looked up at me, confusion in his glance but what should I’ve said? Don’t go in that bar, you’ll end up in the mud, fighting a giant of a man? He would’ve laughed at me, so I just kept my mouth shut.   
Before I could head back, Arthur spoke up again.   
“Ya know what? I’ll accompany ya back to camp. Don’t want ya get caught by somethin’ or someone. Javier and Charles can wait.”  
“O-okay…”, I simply replied.  
Arthur mounted his stallion and we rode back, side by side.


	3. way too much physical contact

Needless to say, that I was right.  
Arthur, Charles, Bill and Javier came into camp that night totally trashed, all of them.  
I sat by the fire with the other women as they strolled in, guilty looks on their faces.  
Well, maybe not that guilty, but a bit for sure.  
“Arthur Morgan! What in the name of God has happened to you?!”, Susan Grimshaw snapped at him, building herself up in front of them.  
I studied him secretly; mud all over his clothes, in the face, swollen features, black eye on the right, blood all over him and cuts here and there.  
It was gross and, please forgive me, hot as hell at the same time.  
“Well… Bill pissed someone off and ya know how it goes.”, Arthur explained simply, ignoring the withering looks Grimshaw gave them.  
Javier chuckled lightly. “Yeah, we had a goo’ time, Miss Grimshaw.”  
“All of you: clean the hell up and do it quickly! I do not tolerate this dirty look of yours in my camp. I won’t say it again!”, she bellowed, shooing the men away with her hands.  
They giggled like little boys, separating as they went to their own tents. Arthur stopped in his tracks, glancing over to me with a curious look on his face but then he continued to his tent, cleaning himself up.  
Tilly snapped me out of my thoughts.  
“So… tell me Sophie, do you have a man back home?”, she asked.  
I nearly choked on my beer. “Euh… No.”  
“Why?”  
“Why what?”  
Karen giggled, pointing with her beer to my face.  
“Yar not that ugly, Sophie. Nobody was interested in ya?”  
“Why, thank you, Karen. But no. Not really, I guess.”, I replied carefully.  
The little flirt with one of my co-teachers doesn’t really count, right? Because, well, he isn’t even born yet; ha-ha.  
“Not really? What does that mean?”, Mary-Beth asked me.  
I sighed. “Well… I was engaged once, but it didn’t work out.”  
“Engaged? Really? Wow… how was he?”, Mary-Beth was always curious, especially if it has something to do with romance.  
“He was nice, at first. But then my daddy died and I… Well, I guess I changed and he couldn’t keep up with it.”, I explained quietly, no need to let the whole camp know my sad love story.  
“U-uhm… I’m sorry to hear that, Sophie.”, Tilly said, reaching over and patting my hand.  
“Ah, don’t be. Long time ago now. I’m over it.”, I replied, giving her hand a small squeeze.  
“That’s good. So… what do ya think about the men ‘round here?”, Karen asked in a groggy tone.  
“W-what?”  
“Yeah, ya know what I mean… which one would ya like to have?”, her voice was low, her finger pointing at some of them, Javier, Bill, Charles, John, Arthur, Dutch, Lenny.  
“Karen!”, Mary-Beth said embarrassed, her face lit up like a tomato.  
“Ah, com’ on, Mary-Beth. Don’t be like that, just a little fun, right?”, Karen said back, a big shit-eating grin on her face.  
Tilly chuckled then she whispered: “I would take Arthur, that’s for sure.”  
“I agree.”  
“Me, too.”  
“I bet ten bucks, that he’s a helluva’ lover in bed.”  
Jesus… that was not the kind of conversation I felt comfortable with.  
“Come on’, Sophie. Tell us yar favorite outlaw…”, Karen said, wiggling with her eyebrows.  
“Ahh, fuck it... John or Arthur, I’d say.”, I told them, fidgeting around on the tree, blushing like hell.  
The women laughed loud, turning the whole attention of the camp towards us and I nearly died, right then and there, really did.  
“Both of them? Goo’ choice, Sophie. That’s a new way of thinkin’… I like that.”  
“Ya like what?”, a low voice said from behind me and I froze.  
“The way our newest gang-member is thinkin’, Mr. Morgan.”, Karen explained to him, a dirty grin on her lips. The others giggled, exchanging smutty grins and glances.  
Arthur sat down next to me in new clothes, black jeans and a dark-green shirt, three buttons open at the collar, but who notices that, right? His hat was missing but all of his gun equipment was there and he looked way cleaner than before.  
“I don’t get ya and I dunno if I reall’ like to.”, he said confused, his eyes wandering back and forth between the giggling girls.  
Karen stood up, one hand pointing between us.  
“Ya go ahead and tell him, girl.”, she said with a wink, while turning and heading to her tent with Tilly and Mary-Beth in tow.  
After they left, Arthur turned his upper body in my direction, eyes searching mine, one hand on his knee, the other holding a bottle of beer.  
“I… u-uhm…”  
I snatched the bottle out of his hands taking a big gulp of it, because I needed it more than him for sure. Arthur chuckled lowly but he didn’t complain, watching me carefully all the time.  
It baffled me; his blue eyes were so intimidating, his presence next to me let my body buzz in all the strange places.  
“How did ya know?”, he asked, not amplifying on what Karen said or that I stole his drink.  
“Know what?”, I replied a bit confused.  
“’bout the bar fight?”, his voice was low and husky.  
Well, I’m from the future, you’re just a game character and I know everything that is going to happen, thanks for asking.  
“Just got a feeling about it, I guess.”, I told him, avoiding the real answer.  
“Mhm…”, he hummed deep in his throat.  
We sat there for a while, listening to the guitar Javier played at his tent, looking down into the flames, enjoying the night as far as possible. To be honest, it was cold, freaking dark and I felt very unprotected without a roof above my head and walls around me. Never thought, that I’d miss my little house that much, the comfort it gave me.  
Heck, I miss my shower, my couch, even the fridge and most of all, a running toilet.  
“Thank you for today.”, I said after some time.  
He looked up again, face unmoved.  
“Yar welcome.”  
It was so strange… I knew everything about this man right next to me, every little detail the game gave us, Mary, Eliza, Isaac, but he was so different right now, so real. A man with feelings, doubts, emotions and principles, just like an authentic man. Strange.  
I could feel and see his anger, his loss, his pain in every movement, in every step and if I’m honest, I would love to just wrap my arms around him and tell him everything is going to be okay, but that wouldn’t be a good idea, I guess.  
Wrapping your arms around a dangerous and tough outlaw in the middle of camp would look very strange though.  
“What?”, he asked, recognizing the sad smile on my lips.  
“Nothing.”  
He chuckled lowly. “I dunno what to thin’ ‘bout ya, Miss.”  
“Me neither.”  
Arthur huffed and laughed at the same time, his hands rolling the empty bottle I gave him back between his fingers, elbows on his knees.  
“I…”, he began but was interrupted.  
“Ahh, Miss Kendall.”, a deep familiar voice called over the fire and we both looked up.  
Dutch stood on the other side of the fireplace, hands resting on his gun belt, weight on one foot, his dark eyes examining the scene in front of him, lips forming into a small smile.  
“Yes, Mr. Van der Linde?”  
“I heard about your deal with Hosea and I’m very grateful for your effort but I may have another job for you, if you’re willing to take it.”  
“What is it?”  
“Well… at first, we gotta make sure, that you can defend yourself, Miss.”, Dutch explained, gaze shifting and resting on Arthur.  
“Ahh… Jesus, Dutch… Really?”, he spoke up with annoyance in his voice.  
Dutchs eyes hardened. “Yes, son. I insist upon it, my dear boy.”  
I nearly laughed out loud, the way Dutch pronounced insist always got me.  
“Well, if ya insist…”, Arthur murmured next to me.  
“I don’t quite get what you’re saying, Mr. Van der Linde.”  
Arthur stood up, one hand scratching his neck. “I’ll take ya out tomorrow morning, Miss.”  
“Excuse me?”  
Dutch chuckled low. “Shooting, Miss Kendall. To see how well you can handle a gun of your own.”  
“U-uh. Do I have another choice?”  
“No.”  
“Well, then… Okay, I guess.”

*

I woke up way to early the next morning, the sun wasn’t up yet just the wonderful pink and orange colors painting the endless sky.  
Camp was still quiet, except for Uncle’s and Bill’s loud snoring which made me smile to myself. Mary-Beth and Karen lay next to me, still sound asleep.  
The air was cold and chilly and I was glad I made a habit of sleeping in my hoodie and leggings, at least they kept me a bit warm.  
Every morning I changed into proper clothes, unnoticed by the others but at night I just wanted to feel comfortable and maybe a bit safe, a bit at home.  
Since nobody was awake, Arthur still asleep on his cot, I decided to go for a little walk. At home I went for a run every day, or at least every second day and I missed it.  
Back in my beloved Nikes, phone in the front pocket of my hoodie, long hair in a side braid, I snuck out of camp.  
Javier stood guard down the path to Valentine and I froze but well… His head laid back against the tree, body slumped down, his snoring was loud and even, the rifle still in his hands.  
Lowly chuckling, I made my way down the path to the river, quietly to not wake Javier up. The view was absolutely stunning, the crispy cold air made my nose and ears red but damn, it was worth it.  
The Dakota River flowed down steady in front of me, the water clear and a light blue, the meadows were unbelievable green with lots of different flowers, the mountains way back in the landscape looked mighty and beautiful.  
Down by the shore, I just stood there, taking everything in. It was too much, too beautiful, too real. I smelled the wood, the water, even the fish, the flowers and all the other things mother nature provided for us. Birds were singing in the trees, some early ones flying around.  
Still a dream, right?  
The sun made her way up slowly, waking the world up with her sunbeams.  
A thought crossed my mind and I took my phone out, still running with eighty-percent, swiped to the left to open the camera and took a few wonderful shots of the river and all the other stuff I saw.  
A shame I couldn’t post them on Instagram, really but as you can imagine, no service; ha.  
“What in the hell are ya doin’, girl?”, a deep voice called from behind and I nearly dropped my phone in the water.  
“Jesus fucking Christ!”  
“Yeah, that’s one way to say it.”  
I turned, Arthur stood in front of me, arms crossed over his broad chest, gaze wandering up and down my body.  
“I… uhm, just took a morning walk.”  
“I can see that. What is it?”, he asked, head nodding at my phone, clutched to my chest, to hide the picture in front of my sweater.  
“Uh-uh, nothing.”  
One eyebrow rose in surprise.  
“Really? Nothin’? Then, let me see.”  
I took a few steps back, holding my hands with the phone on my back.  
“Nope.”  
Arthur watched me carefully, a mix of annoyance and curiosity.  
“I give ya ten seconds.”, he simply explained, one arm stretched out, palm up.  
Well, I had two options; I could give it to him but that would lead to a lot of questions I couldn’t answer or I could try and run but that didn’t sound like a good idea either.  
He took the decision from me regardless by quickly trapping me in his strong arms, snatching the phone out of my crossed hands on my back. My face was buried in his chest for a short time and I still recovered from it, overwhelmed by his strength, his scent; just overwhelmed by his closeness.  
Arthur took a step back, looking down at the little thing in his hands, and oh boy, it really looked so small in his strong and big hands.  
“What…?”, his voice was husky, low.  
He turned it upwards and nearly dropped it the way I did a few moments ago, because the screen lit up, revealing my background, the time, the date and the battery-percentage.  
Oh-oh, my background…  
If I wouldn’t have been so afraid, because, well; what did they do with strange people and things they couldn’t explain back then? Burn like witches? Clean shot in the head? Maybe I should’ve paid more attention in history class; I would have laughed out loud over his reaction, mouth open, eyes searching the strange thing, face drawn in disbelief.  
He coughed slightly.  
“What is that?”  
“Well… You wouldn’t believe me.”, I tried to explain, hands fumbling restless at my hoodie-pocket.  
“Jus’ tell me what the fuck this thin’ is, woman!”, he exploded nearly, blue eyes hard as steel.  
“Shit, okay… It’s an iPhone X.”  
Arthur looked at me like a second head had grown on my shoulders.  
“W-what?”  
I sighed loudly while reaching for it. He relented after a short time, giving it back to me and I stood next to him, his eyes wandering over me and then to the phone in my hands.  
“It’s… Well, how do I explain it properly? It’s a phone in the first way but you can do a lot more with it, like taking pictures and some more stuff.”  
No need to confuse him with the whole world of the internet.  
“A phone?”  
“Yeah… You can call someone who is far away, for example.”  
Do phones already exists? I had no idea.  
I unlocked it and he hissed trough his teeth, watching the screen moving and changing while I opened the camera once more.  
“See. You can take pics with it.”, I tried to explain, holding the phone in front of us to show him what I meant and took a photo of the tree next to us. His face was way to close for comfort, leant down, right above my shoulder, as he watched carefully what I was doing, but I didn’t mind at all.  
When I showed him the photo of the tree, his gaze flickered back and forth between the real object and the one on the screen.  
“T-that is… incredible. H-how…?”, he stated low. “The cameras I know, ‘re not quite that good.”  
I huffed. “Yeah, I know. Here, look at this.”  
The camera switched to the front one, our faces looking back at us through the phone. Arthur grumbled in surprise, eyes searching the screen with curiosity. His unbelievable body heat kept creeping through the fabric at my back.  
“Stop moving, Morgan.”  
He froze and I couldn’t help myself, shuffled a bit closer to him so that his chin rested on my shoulder, because he was still leaning down to me, our cheeks nearly touching. His hands moved slowly to my hip, grazing the fabric of my hoodie, not quite touching but close to it.  
A small smile emerged on my lips, as I took the photo.  
Jeeez, a selfie with Arthur Morgan, Elena would be so proud and jealous.  
The pic was a hilarious; his blue-green eyes looked stunning in the morning light while his gaze was turned in my direction, lips twitched upwards in one corner, expression a mix of amusement and suspicion. His three-day-stubble and short light-brown hair shone bright in the sunlight; he was fucking handsome.  
Even in the picture I seemed so average next to him; brown hair in a slightly messy braid, a little too big grey eyes sparkling in the light, lips formed a small smile, my much-hated freckles all over my nose and parts of my cheek.  
I looked awful in contrast to him.  
“Lord help me… you’re damn handsome.”  
Wait, did I say it out loud?  
Arthur chuckled and snorted at the same time, taking a step back.  
“Ain’t handsome.”, he grumbled, rummaging around in his satchel until he fetched a pack of cigarettes out, lighting one and inhaling its smoke deep into his lungs.  
“You know what, this stuff can kill you.”, I said to him, turning the phone in my hands off to stow it back in my pocket, saving its battery.  
“What?”  
“Cigarettes. Lung cancer and all the other nasty shit. Besides, it smells disgusting.”  
“C-cancer? Ya sometimes say things I don’t understand, Miss.”  
I sighed deeply. “I know.”  
He looked down at his cigarette, brows frowning a bit but then he just tossed at on the ground, smashing it with his boot.  
“Ya happy now?”  
A little chuckle escaped my lips. “U-hm, yes.”  
Arthur stood in front of me, arms crossed over his chest, his blue shirt and black jeans hugging his body in all the right places, gaze resting on my hoodie.  
“Anyways, why do I have the feelin’ that I stare at myself right now?”  
“W-what?”  
His arm reached out, finger lightly touching the front of my shirt and my heart just skipped a beat. Way too much physical contact in one morning for my poor heart.  
“Oh, that… Well, uhm…”  
“Yeah?”, his gaze was intimidating.  
“Crap... Okay, it’s you.”, I simply said.  
He titled his head, puzzled look on his handsome face.  
“I dunno how to feel ‘bout that.”  
“Honored? Flattered?”, I replied with a smirk.  
He laughed low. “Maybe. We’ll see ‘bout that. This… well, how do ya even call it?”  
“What? That? Hoodie.”  
“Hoodie… Jesus. Never heard somethin’ like that before. It looks so different and yar, uhm, pants ‘re sure somethin’ else, too.”  
I gulped, anxious by his piercing glance. His eyes stopped down by my shoes, weight shifting on one leg, hands resting on his gun belt.  
“Strange…”  
“Where I come from, these are totally normal.”, I tried to explain, not a lie at least.  
Arthur’s eyes flickered back to mine. “Really? They’ll wander ‘round with dangerous outlaws on their ‘hoodies’?”  
“Not exactly, but some, yeah.”  
Those who liked the game for example.  
“So ya know who I am?”, he asked after a short moment of silence.  
“Is that a trick-question?”, I gave back.  
He let out a short laughter. “Dunno what that means, but probably yes.”  
“Well, you introduced yourself to me, Arthur Morgan. So, yes, I know who you are.”  
More than you can suspect right now.  
“Seems like a strange place where ya from, Miss. All this stuff… I dunno what to thin’ ‘bout it.”, Arthur stated, hands fumbling in the air to prove his point.  
My eyes dropped down, searching my sneakers. “You have no idea…”  
“Regardless, let’s keep movin’. I don’t have all day. Need to look for that non-good-preacher of ours, useless piece of shit he is…”  
“He’s at Flatneck Station.”, I said without thinking, ups.  
Arthur froze, baffled expression on his face.  
Before I could explain myself, he closed the distance between us, one hand grabbing the collar of my shirt, the other one clasping my throat.  
A surprised squeak left my mouth, hands holding onto his wrists. His body was flush against mine and although I was scared to the bone, an unwanted heat flowed through my veins, settling down in my stomach.  
“’M jus’ gonna say this once; if ya goin’ to pull some funny business with us, ya’re dead. Do ya understand? I’ve no idea what ya ‘re, what ya’re doin’ here and how ya know all these things, but if ya betraying us, ya’re dead before ya can blink. Got it?”, his voice, low, husky, breaking at some points, send more than one shiver down my spine and I just nodded, unable to speak.  
“Do ya understand, girl?!”  
“Yes…”, I managed to get out.  
“Good.”, he rasped, hand releasing my shirt.  
His ocean-like-eyes wandered up to mine, the hand on my throat followed his gaze upwards, stopping at my cheek, thumb slowly stroking in circles. A smirk settled on his lips, when he noticed the shaky breaths I took, the way my body leant in closer to his, without my permission of course and how my gaze flickered between his eyes and mouth.  
He was so close, so tall, so good-looking… I just couldn’t help it, really.  
“Although, it would be a shame to kill someone that cute.”  
Wait, what?  
Arthur took a few steps back, watching me carefully as he whistled through his teeth for his horse, chuckling lowly to himself while shaking his head in disbelief.  
He murmured something I couldn’t catch, mounted his stallion and reached down to hoist me up behind him.  
I settled down straddling the saddle, embracing his waist, which didn’t really help my flustered thoughts, all while Arthur spurred the horse into an enjoyable lope, heading towards Flatneck Station.  
“If ya know where he is, ya can help me fetch him as well.”, he said over his shoulder and I just nodded, still confused and tingly from the events this morning.  
The hell, the sun was nearly up and I just got my first death threat and some unwanted thoughts in my head; great.


	4. distractions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's POV

She was right, again.  
Arthur shot her a curious look out of the corner of his eyes, while he lifted Swanson at the back of his horse.  
It isn’t in his nature to be uncertain, confused and clueless, but this woman does strange things with him right from the moment he had laid eyes on her for the first time.  
Sophie Kendall.  
Plopped out of nowhere in the middle of camp, always this slightly frightened look in her big grey eyes, some would say she is mighty pretty; long dark-brown hair, soft facial features, all these damn freckles; but Arthur isn’t interested in this kind of stuff. Hit him hard the last two times, no need for another round.  
He heard John, Javier and Lenny talk about her last night at the fire, all of them a bit sweet on her, but this wouldn’t last, at least not until another new halfway good-looking woman joins them.  
She’s like the new shiny toy everybody wants to play with and guess what; he has the honor currently. Great.  
Arthur let his eyes roam over her body, these odd clothes still irritating the hell out of him but he had to admit; these bizarre pants hugged every part of her just fine, no real space for imagination.  
The ‘hoodie’, as she told him, was a bit large on her small, not too small, frame and his face right in front of her breasts… well, no words for that.  
He shrugged and shook his head, so strange. This tiny phone she had shown him earlier, so fucking weird. Everything about this woman seems weird, every word that comes out of this pretty mouth of hers; peculiar. She seems to know things she just couldn’t, it was odd, so fucking odd and he was tired of it.  
First the bar fight, then Swanson and Lenny said, that she knew his name as they found her before he could even tell it.  
Maybe he should take her to this feller he met a few days ago down in Strawberry, what was his name again? Francis Sinclair? He had a strange way with words, too. They could get along fine and he wouldn’t have to waste his precious time with her again.  
One problem down, a thousand more to face.  
Arthur sighed heavy, petting the backside of an unconscious Swanson at the back of his horse, drunk as a skunk.  
Sophie stood next to him, grey eyes wandering over the landscape like she had never seen it before.  
She was short, so short, that he could put the underside of his chin easily on top of her head, if he wanted to, which is not the case.  
“We should take ‘im back to camp.”, he said drily.  
She jumped, just a bit but he saw it.  
He held her gaze as she turned, facing him again.  
“Right. U-uhm… How?”, Sophie motions to the saddle and Swanson.  
“Shit. Well, we’ll walk then. Not that far.”  
No way he would load his horse with three people, besides, this would have been a bit too close for comfort.  
The thought of her back pressed against his chest sent a shiver down his spine, an unwelcomed shiver, which reminded him of the situation down at the river a few hours ago.  
Despite his suspicion against her, he was also a little curious about some things.  
“What do ya do with the picture?”  
Sophie turned her head to look at him, while she walked next to him and his horse.  
“Picture?”  
“Yeah. The one down by the river?”, he reminded her.  
“Ah, well.”, a soft chuckle escaped her. “If I had a printer, I would give it to you but…”  
There, there it was again.  
“P-printer?”  
She frowned and then hesitated a bit. “Oh, crap... Just imagine a machine that can develop pictures, that’s a printer.”  
Arthur was well aware of the fact, that he wasn’t the brightest candle on the tree but he did know, that the photographers, like Albert Mason, develop pictures in some kind of chemistry or something like that, it’s a hell of a progress and needs a lot of time. He had never heard of a machine that can take this part, maybe he has to ask him the next time he sees him, running from bears or other dangerous animals.  
That man was an odd but lovely feller.  
Sophie averted her eyes again, looking down at her grey shoes with this bright orange line on the side. Truth be told; they seemed comfortable but also unsafe, there is a reason why boots are high; snakes, dirt and twisting your ankle for example.  
They walked in silence back to the camp, his one hand holding the reins of his horse, leading it next to him.  
He was a good horse, not as good as Boadicea but regardless good and faithful.  
The sun stood high, making the temperatures rise with every passing hour, Arthur could feel the sweat forming under his hat and in his neck.  
“How is yar horse treatin’ ya?”  
Sophie smiled a bit, just a bit.  
“Good so far. Didn’t had the time to ride her again but she’s sweet and well-behaved.”  
“Well, ya can take her out now.”, he replied.  
“Now?”  
“Sure. I promised Dutch to take ya out shooting, remember?”  
She frowned a bit, her hands fumbling at the hem of her ‘hoodie’.  
“I don’t have a gun, Mr. Morgan.”, she said quietly.  
He shrugged. “Don’cha worry, ya can take mine. And it’s just Arthur, Miss Kendall.”  
Sophie stopped in her tracks, eyes on him, body tensed and stiff.  
“Whut?”, he asked startled, one brow cocked, also stopping.  
“Never mind… Okay, Arthur. Please call me Sophie likewise.”

*

They made their way back to camp quietly, Arthur placed Swanson down back in his tent with Grimshaw looking over him, that sick and dumb bastard.  
Sophie changed into her black riding pants and a grey shirt, normal looking again but still… there was something about her Arthur couldn’t quite explain and it made him uneasy.  
During her shooting-lesson he must admit, that he was a bit impressed. She could handle a gun and a rifle just fine, no need for another lesson.  
Regardless, he adjusted her feet and arms just a little to show her the perfect way to shoot a gun and she followed his orders without hesitation.  
“Always pull the trigger on empty lungs.”, he explained to her.  
Sophie’s back was slightly pressed against his front and he felt how she inhaled deeply, expanding her chest, focusing on the tiny bottle a few yards away and then she exhaled, shattering the brown glass into hundreds of pieces.  
She turned her head to look up at him, lips turning into a winning smile and her eyes twinkled with excitement.  
“Would be way easier if I had dead eye, but…”  
And there it was again.  
“Dead eye? What’s that?”  
She shrugged, eyes wandering back to the wooden beam, where the bottles were positioned. They stood in the open meadows of the Heartlands, next to some abandoned oil derrick which he found a few days ago.  
“Forget it.”, she simply said and Arthur huffed.  
“’Course, should I forget every word that comes out of your mouth?”, he rumbled in response.  
Sophie took a few steps back, rifle still in her hands and her gaze was harder than before. Arthur mirrored her actions and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring her down.  
“Look, Arthur… I know that I sound, well, different sometimes.”, she began and he just cocked an eyebrow.  
“Understatement of the century.”, he half-chuckled.  
“I had a tough time the last few days and I still don’t quite know what exactly is going on, but I do my best, okay? There are some things that I can’t explain, hell, I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing here, but- I know things, a lot of things and maybe you should listen to some of them.”  
Well, that was quite the speech. Dutch would be impressed.  
“What things do ya mean?”, he asked curiously.  
Sophie handed him his gun back and he took it as he watched her closely. She looked up at him, hands fumbling at the hem of her shirt.  
“Gosh… Okay. Like, I knew where Swanson was, right?”  
Arthur nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”  
“And I knew Lenny and Micah before I even met them.”  
He nodded again.  
“Ya also knew ‘bout the bar fight…”, he added.  
Sophie’s lips showed just the hint of a smile.  
“You get it. Let’s just say, I know some things which are going to happen, even if that sounds completely dumb.”  
Arthur chuckled lightly.  
“Nah, who would say that? Sounds absolutely plausible to me.”  
She sighed. “See, I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”  
“Yeah, ‘cause yar a fortune teller and ya know everythin’, right?”  
Sophie threw her hands up in the air, turned and stomped off towards the horses.  
“Forget it, Arthur.”  
He followed her, grabbed her by the arm and stopped with her right next to the horses.  
“Prove it.”  
Why he said it? No idea. He was curious and he knew something was off with her, but telling the future? No way.  
She tensed under his touch, eyes darting to his, hesitating a bit before she sighed again.  
“Sean is in Blackwater, some bounty hunters got him. You, Javier, Charles und Trelawny will go and free him in a few days or maybe today, tomorrow, not sure when.”  
Arthur froze. Trelawny found them after the bar fight, told them to meet him outside of Blackwater, told them about Sean. Dutch and Hosea are the only others who knew about this and Javier and Charles of course, but they are already somewhere near Blackwater.  
“Ya could’ve overheard that somewhere in camp.”, he said dryly.  
Sophie rolled her eyes at him, releasing her arm out of his touch, he let her.  
“Nobody said something about it. But okay… Let’s see. Ah, Lenny will come back soon, Micah will be in prison and Dutch will send you for the rescue, killing nearly the whole town of Strawberry just for Micah’s precious guns.”  
Arthur nearly laughed out loud. Micah in prison? Good. Killing the whole town? Nope, ain’t gonna happen.  
He looked her up and down, the serious expression on her face making him uneasy.  
“Really?”  
“Yup.”  
Arthur mounted his horse, shaking his head in disbelief.  
“Guess we’ll see ‘bout that.”, he simply stated, not sure what to think about all of this.  
He needed to speak with Dutch about it.  
“Let’s pretend I believe ya... Is there anythin’ else?”, he asked her after some time, as they made their way back to camp.  
Sophie overlooked the endless meadows of the Heartlands, one hand holding the reins, the other resting on her thigh.  
She laughed, she really laughed.  
“Oh boy. There is way too much happening soon, Arthur.”  
“What does that even mean?”, he shot back, anger clearly in his voice.  
Her grey eyes wandered back to him, a little smile on her lips.  
“I’ll tell you if you really believe me.”  
Arthur snorted.  
“Fine.”

*

The sun stood high in the sky when they finally reached camp. Marston was on guard duty, a smug smile on his face as he spotted them together.  
“’Bout time ya got yarself a woman ya don’t have to pay for, Morgan.”, the younger outlaw said mockingly with his deep and hoarse voice, like he drank only whiskey his whole life and smoked one cigarette after the other.  
Ah, here we go again.  
Arthur grumbled low, but before he could spite something out, Sophie dismounted, heading straight towards Marston with big steps.  
“You watch your goddamn mouth, John!”, she flared up, her forefinger pressed into his chest, her body tensed and anger was clear as the day in her voice.  
John was totally taken aback, his eyes searching Arthur’s while he took a step back, hands in the air to calm her down.  
Arthur couldn’t help himself and began to laugh.  
“What the hell, Morgan?!”, John addressed him.  
“I’m right here, dumbass. If you got something to say, say it.”, Sophie snarled.  
He had seen a lot of things in his life, most of them not very nice, but this was something new and he would never forget it. A woman who had the balls to confront a dangerous man; okay maybe John wasn’t that dangerous, but at least he could be if he wanted; right in front of his camp, where everybody could shoot her right then and there, that was something.  
The lesson that Sophie gave John right now, was more than overdue, at least in his opinion. John’s big mouth got them more times into trouble that he can remember.  
Arthur watched, as John turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. They looked good together, he recognized. John wasn’t as tall as himself, Sophie stood just a few inches lower than John.  
A strange feeling spread in his gut and he adverted his gaze.  
“Ya heard the woman, Marston.”, he said in a gruff voice.  
John snorted loudly, took a few steps back, hoisted his rifle over his shoulder and went back to work.  
“Thanks for the help, brother.”, he spat out, earning a chuckle from Arthur.  
“Every time.”  
Sophie gave John one last deadly look, then she grabbed the reins from her horse and lead her back to camp, Arthur followed suit.  
That was the second time that day that he was impressed. It wasn’t easy to impress Arthur Morgan, that’s for sure.  
They hitched their horses next to another and Sophie sighed deep, her hand stroking through the golden-brown coat of her mare.  
“Shit.”, she said under her breath.  
Arthur stepped around the horse and came to a stop in front of her, one arm resting on her saddle.  
“That was quite brave and dumb at the same time.”, he stated low and Sophie furrowed her brows.  
“I know. I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be. Marston needed that. He’s an asshole.”  
Her eyes scanned his face. “Not forever. But I hate people who disrespect others.”  
He tried, but he couldn’t quite suppress the smile that formed on his lips.  
“I…”  
“Arthur!”  
They turned to see Dutch making his way towards them.  
Sophie tensed next to him, he could feel it but he didn’t say anything.  
“What is it, Dutch?”  
“Ah, Miss Kendall. How did the shooting lesson go?”, he asked in his smooth voice.  
She shrugged. “Good, I suppose. You need to ask Arthur, Mr. Van der Linde.”  
Dutch shot him a surprised look. “Well, Arthur. Would you be so kind and tell me how it was?”  
Arthur wasn’t that dumb, he knew what his leader was thinking.  
“She did good, Dutch. Can handle a rifle an’ a gun just fine.”  
The older outlaw clapped his hands in pure delight.  
“Wonderful. I’m going to catch up with you two, when the job is ready.”  
Arthur paused. “Wait? With us?”  
Dutch chuckled. “Sure, I need both of you for this job, Arthur.”  
Sophie muttered something under her breath and Arthur snorted.  
“Great.”  
“It is, my son. It is. Now, would you please go and meet up with Mr. Trelawny, Arthur? Miss Kendall, young Jack is waiting for you in Hosea’s tent.”  
She nodded, shot him one last I-told-you-glance over her shoulder and left.  
Arthur mounted his stallion again, patting him gently on the neck.  
She was right again.  
“Arthur?”  
“Yes, Dutch?”  
The leader came to a halt next to him, his gaze curious and a bit hard.  
“We have no time for distractions, son.”  
Arthur gulped. “What?”  
“Don’t play dumb, boy. You know what I’m implying. I need you all with me at my side, focused.”  
He hesitated but then nodded.  
“Sure.”


	5. nugget

Jack was absolutely gorgeous and very smart. He ate up everything I told him, eager to learn more and more.   
Abigail and Hosea sat next to us at first, still a bit wary about me but after a few hours they both strolled out of the older outlaw’s tent, doing whatever needed doing.   
I tried very hard to concentrate on little Jack and his reading process, but a certain outlaw – a very handsome one – kept occupying my mind; damn.   
This whole day was crazy; first the iPhone bomb, Swanson, the shooting-lesson, my dumb and brainless revelation towards Arthur.   
Shit. That’s not what I had in mind at all.   
“T-the b-boy and h-his h-h-horse…”  
Jack had his little brows furrowed in concentration, his small body sitting between my bent legs, a book Hosea gave me in his tiny hands.   
He did good, at least for a four-year-old outlaw-kid, with no school education.   
The evening came slowly outside of Hosea’s tent, the sun setting behind these beautiful and majestic mountains, a light chill came with the dawn and goosebumps appeared on my skin. I was lost in thoughts when Jack suddenly snorted and pouted in my lap and I lifted my gaze up to meet Abigail’s kind eyes, a questioning look in her blue-grey ones.   
“What?”  
The younger woman chuckled lightly. “Miles away, huh?”  
“Yeah, sorry. What is it?”, I responded.   
“The boys are back, with Sean. Dutch told everyone to have a good night, so I’m taking Jack to bed.”  
Oh.   
I hesitated a bit until my brain decided to work again.   
“Uh-uh, sure. Jack, get up.”  
Jack stood up, placing the book in my lap, a wide smile on his cute face.  
“Did you have a good time with Miss Kendall?”, Abigail asked him, while scooping him up in her arms.   
His giggle made me smile.   
“Sure did, momma. Miss Sophie is a very good teacher.”, came his reply.   
“Is that so? Good for you, little one.”  
Jack’s smile grew even bigger and I stood up as well, placing the book back on a crate next to us.   
“He is a clever and smart kid, Abigail.”, I said to her and she boomed with pride.   
“Always knew it. You are goin’ to be a lawyer or a doctor, right?”  
The little boy leaned back in his mother’s arms, swatting away her face while she tried to kiss him, giggling all the time.   
“Stop it, momma!”  
My heart swelled while watching these two. It was obvious that Abigail loved Jack more than anything else, a shame that John was still such a fool. Too bad he isn’t going to realize how lucky he is, until it’s almost too late.  
“See ya tomorrow, Miss Sophie?”, Jack asked and I smiled.   
“Sure. Sleep well, Jack.”  
“Thank ya, ya too.”  
“You’re very welcome.”  
Abigail left towards her and Jack’s tent and I stood a few moments in silence, listening to the speech Sean gave currently, chuckling to myself.   
I couldn’t wait to meet this funny and truly unlucky Irishman so I strolled in the middle of camp, taking a seat next to Dutch’s tent at the round table, Karen, Tilly and Uncle were already seated there.   
Sean’s eyes lingered a brief moment on me, a curious look on his face but he continued his monologue without interruption. A few gang members laughed or shot him naughty comments but the red-haired outlaw didn’t even flinch and finished his oration.   
I glanced around, the campfires illuminating everything in red and orange. Some people just stood around the fire; others sat on the ground. Javier played a fancy tune on his guitar and soon many voices echoed around the campground, singing songs I didn’t know.  
Gosh, I missed music.   
Like, Luke Bryan; Hunter Hayes; Rascal Flatts.  
Real music.  
Not this.  
Beer and whiskey were drowned and the later the night proceeded, the more members were drunk.   
After a few conversations with some of the girls and a very humorous one with Sean, I found myself sitting on a barrel, beer in one hand, watching Molly O’Shea and Dutch dancing to one of Javier’s songs. The fearless leader holding his woman tight, whispering sweet nothings in her ear every now and then. Her childish giggle made my nose crinkle in disgust.   
Nah, Dutch wasn’t my cup of tea.  
Mary-Beth stopped next to me, a beer bottle in her hands and a dreamy expression on her face.   
“Look at them, this is so romantic.”, she said to me.   
I shrugged, untouched. “They’re just dancing, Mary-Beth.”  
“I know. But I would love to dance.”  
This girl was a helpless romantic.   
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Arthur and John standing just a few feet away, deep in discussion. The older outlaw gesturing with both hands in the air, John’s gaze trapped on the ground.  
Interesting.   
“Would you rather like to dance with Arthur or John?”, I asked her gleefully.   
Even in the dark I could see how her face flushed a deep red.   
“U-uh, I- … none.”, she said quietly, hands fumbling with her dress.  
“Ah, nonsense. Arthur! John!”  
Both men turned their heads in our direction, Mary-Beth hid behind me while I motioned them to join us. They relented after a brief moment and stopped in front of us, my poor heart fluttered in my chest at the sight of both of them right in my touching range.  
John spoke first, hands waving around in the air.   
“What? Ya not done teasin’ me?”  
I chuckled. “Not in the slightest, Marston. I need you to dance with Miss Gaskill, please.”  
He arched an eyebrow, feet shifting uncomfortably underneath him and Arthur just laughed quietly next to him.   
“And whys that?”  
“Because she wants to, right Mary-Beth?”  
Mary-Beth nodded slowly. “I guess.”  
John shot me a deadly look. “And?”, he asked in his husky voice.   
I stared him down, my left hand pointed at her then at myself.   
“It’s her or me, Marston. Your choice.”  
He mumbled something under his breath, dark eyes darting between Mary-Beth and me.   
“What was that?”, I asked him in a serious tone and his eyes dropped down, a slight flush creeping up his cheeks.   
“You’re a pain in the ass, miss.”  
“Oh, I haven’t even started yet. Shut it and dance with this gorgeous girl, John.”, I shot back, an amused smile on my lips.   
Mary-Beth was downright shocked about my choice of words but followed a pissed John without hesitation when he grabbed her hand in his and lead her to the makeshift dancing floor.   
I chuckled and took a deep gulp of my beer, feet dangling in the air, somewhat pleased with myself.  
Ha, dangerous outlaws. As if!  
Arthur shuffled until he stood on my left side, arms crossed over his broad chest.   
“Well, consider me impressed.”  
My eyes locked with his for a few moments and I needed to calm my breathing.   
Damn.   
Why exactly was he that handsome?  
“Why, thank you Mr. Morgan. Couldn’t stand seeing Mary-Beth this gloomy.”  
His low rumble of laughter sent an unwanted shiver down my spine and I adverted my eyes again, watching the two couples dancing around the campground.   
John and Mary-Beth looked cute together but he wasn’t exactly a good dancer, not in the slightest.  
Arthur took in a deep breath before he spoke up again: “Ya wanna dance?”  
My head turned in his direction, baffled, my hand with the bottle stopped in the middle of its way towards my mouth.   
“W-what? With you?”  
A little smile pulled on the corner of his lips.   
“Sure. I can’t stand seein’ a lady that gloomy.”, he replied with a lopsided-grin and I couldn’t help myself, I smiled back until it faltered.   
“Wait a second; In the morning you nearly threatened me to death and now you want me to dance with you? Did I miss something?”  
Arthur scratched the back of his neck in discomfort, the smile still lingered on his lips.   
“Jus’ needed to prove ma’ point, Sophie. ´S nothin’ personal.”  
“Ah, I see. Okay then, cowboy.”  
I put the bottle down on the barrel but before I could jump down on my own, he reached for me, grabbed me by the waist and pulled me up, dropping me back to me feet right in front of him.   
His hands lingered a bit too long on my body but I didn’t really mind, not at all. Every touch sent a warm feeling right down in my belly, an unnecessary reminder that I haven’t been touched that way in a long time.   
Way too long.   
Years; to be more specific.   
Arthur grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers while leading us between Dutch and John. His hand was huge, warm, calloused and rough, but it felt better than good.   
For some reason this little gesture, intertwining our fingers, made me tingly and planted a wide grin on my lips.   
A small gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it, as he turned around and pulled my body flush against his, one hand at the small of my back, the other still intertwined with mine. I placed my free hand on his shoulder and I felt every movement of his muscles under my palm.   
Oh Lord.   
Please send help.  
I was lost, totally lost.   
Lost in the arms of this handsome, strong and good-smelling outlaw. I never though the smell of gun-oil, wood and horses could be this arousing.   
He began moving and I simply followed, it wasn’t the greatest of dances but it was nice, simple and felt wonderful.   
Dutch stared daggers in Arthur’s back while we were dancing and I snorted a bit annoyed before I could stop myself.   
“What?”, he asked, his voice way deeper than normal.   
“Did Dutch told you to stay away from me?”  
Arthur raised his head and looked over my shoulder towards the man in question, followed by a deep sigh afterwards.   
“Yeah, he did.”  
Ouch.   
“Dunno why, but it doesn’t matter.”, came his reply and I looked up in his face. He didn’t wear his hat that night and I could get a good look at his face without him hiding under the brim of it.   
He did this way too often.   
“It doesn’t?”, I asked back, curious about his answer.   
Arthur spun us around, the hand on my back wandering up between my shoulder blades, then he bended me backwards until I clutched at his blue shirt afraid to hit the dusty ground but he simply grinned and hoisted me back up, pressing our bodies back together.   
“Nah, as ya can see, I’m a grown man an’ I don’t need anyone’s permission for anythin’.”  
“Good to know.”  
We kept dancing and I felt myself relaxing more and more in his strong arms. He hummed the melody of Javier’s song deep in his chest and the rumbling noise made me uneasy, in a good way.   
As we turned around once more, my eyes locked for a brief moment with Kieran Duffy’s, still tied up to that tree at the edge of camp.   
“He isn’t an O’Driscoll.”, I simply stated and Arthur stopped in his tracks, followed my gaze and groaned.   
“H-How…? Ah, yeah.”  
He fell silent for a moment or two but resumed our dance.   
“So, ya were right again today.”, he murmured in my ear while leaning down a bit.   
I nodded, trying to ignore his closeness.   
“Told you.”  
His breath brushed my cheek as he chuckled and I felt myself blush. Deep in my stomach I could feel butterflies roaming around and my pulse quickened under his touch.   
Not good.   
“So, what’s next?”  
“Next?”, I looked up again, locking eyes with his. Unknowingly and out of habit, I bit my bottom lip while thinking and his gaze followed my movement down. His expression changed slightly, just a bit but I saw it. The blue of his eyes shifted a shade darker, still fixated on my mouth.   
Oh boy.   
My breath hitched and I felt way too hot. I wanted to kiss him, so bad. I never wanted anything that much. But he was still a video game character and this whole thing right now wasn’t real, right?  
But why did it feel so real?   
His body heat seeping through all these layers of clothes, his scent filling my nose, his muscles moving under my touch.   
In this world, he was as real as he could be.   
His eyes wandered back up, searching mine all while leaning down closer, our faces just inches apart.   
Before I could do something really stupid, I took a step back, releasing myself out of his embrace but holding his left hand still in mine.   
“I-I- uh-uh.”, I stuttered not looking at him. Taking a deep breath, I tried to order my thoughts back together.   
“Kieran. You need to speak with him in the morning. Watch out for the cabin door.”  
With that, I turned and headed straight to bed, ignoring his calls for me. 

*

The next day came way too fast and my body ached from all the chores and uncomfortable sleep I wasn’t used to.   
I saw Arthur, Bill and John leaving early in the morning with Kieran on their heels, so I went to grab little Jack to practice more reading and his writing.   
Right now, we both sat on the table in the middle of camp and he rewrote all the letters I wrote down before.   
He was a quick-learner, already able to form and write down a few words on his own.   
After some time, Hosea came strolling over, two coffee mugs in his hands and he handed me one while sitting down next to us. I thanked him and took a sip. It was gross, made me miss my coffee-machine back home, but I was thankful either way. The brown liquid increasing my mood just a little bit.   
“Tell me Sophie, how are you feeling today?”, Hosea asked in his rich voice.   
My gaze shifted from Jack’s tiny hand to him.   
“Good, I guess.”  
“What makes you guess?”  
“Ah. Bad sleep, aching back, you know how it is.”, I replied with a smile.   
He chuckled. “You tell me. Maybe we can arrange something about the sleep, though. Jack already made a huge progress and I think that I can reward you about this.”  
I stilled, looking in his soft brown eyes.   
“Really?”  
“Sure. Arthur will take you into town once he is back and you can buy yourself your own tent, how does that sound?”  
Oh great.   
“Uh-uh. Sounds good to me. You sure Arthur isn’t too busy?”  
Hosea’s eyes shifted a bit. “I’ll talk to him.”  
A small sigh escaped my lips and of course it didn’t go unnoticed. Hosea was way too clever for me.   
“What is it, Sophie?”  
“I-… Uh, I don’t have any money.”, I replied.  
His grey brows shot up and he took a sip of his own mug.   
“Doesn’t matter. Told you I’d pay for this.”  
He watched me like a Hawk, recognizing every twitch in my face. I’m normally very good at faking emotions or covering the real ones, but as I said, Hosea was too smart and wasn’t having any of it.  
“Tell me. What worries you?”  
Jack kept on writing, not paying attention to our conversation.   
“Ah, I don’t want to be ungrateful, but…”  
My sentence was interrupted by Bill, John and Kieran, hollering loudly while trotting back into camp.   
Dutch left his tent, arms risen at his sides as he stepped closer to the men.   
“Well?”  
Bill spoke up first.   
“Nothin’, jus’ killed some of Colm’s men, but he wasn’t there, boss.”  
John grabbed Kieran’s shoulder, dragging him in front of the leader.   
“He did good, Dutch. Saved Arthur’s ass back there. I think we can trust him.”  
Hosea stood up and walked over, stopping beside Dutch.   
“You sure?”  
“Yeah, pretty.”  
Dutch shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. Then he offered Kieran his outstretched hand to shake it, to seal the deal.   
Kieran hesitated a bit, his eyes darting between all of them, his whole body screaming of discomfort. After a few moments, he grabbed Dutch’s hand, flinching under the erupting laughter and whistles around them.   
“Welcome to our family!”, Dutch hollered, so that everyone could hear him.   
I saw Mary-Beth’s delighted gaze as she watched them and smiled to myself. Maybe they would work out this time.   
Jack simply ignored all the fuss around him and wrote down all the names he knew, showing them proudly in my direction and I praised him, encouraging him to write down more.  
Hosea came back to our table maybe an hour later, John in tow.   
I suppressed a ground as I spotted him, focusing back on his son.   
“Well, Arthur is nowhere to be found, so I organized you another ride into town, Sophie.”, Hosea explained, a warm smile on his lips.   
I looked up, hiding my disappointment under a small smile. John stood behind Jack, his eyes dark and bored, looking me up and down.   
“Hosea, I’m totally fine by going into town on my own, you know?”  
“Oh, I totally get that but you won’t. John will accompany you with pleasure, right boy?”  
John only grunted in response, his whole body-language telling a totally different story.   
“Well, okay then.”  
Hosea nodded with a smile, looking over Jack’s papers all around on the table.   
“I’m sure Jack could use a break, so you two get going now. Ah and John? Please bring me some coffee while you’re in town.”  
“Sure.”  
Hosea gave me fifty dollars, shooed us away and I followed John towards his horse, Old Boy, which was hitched directly next to mine.   
The route to Valentine was longer than I thought, in game it may be two minutes but here it was like half an hour or maybe more.   
We rode in silence, John leading the way, scanning his surroundings all the time, the horses trotting away on the dirty path, the sun shining down on us without mercy.   
I was still amazed how beautiful everything was, so green, so pure, so untouched by humanity. A shame we build all these roads and cities and everything else.  
In a way, I could totally understand Dutch, his wish to run away from all this. But there was no way in running away from progress and civilization.   
My eyes drifted around, stunned by all this magnificent nature. I’ve been here for nearly a week and it almost felt like months had passed. I was still not quite sure what exactly was going on, but I decided to make the best out of it. Just live in the moment and regret things later.   
The buckskin mare snorted underneath me and I patted her on the neck, stroking through her soft mane, cooing softly under my breath.   
“She got a name?”  
John’s hoarse voice brought me back and I lifted my gaze.   
“Not yet.”  
We passed over the railroad tracks, Old Boy slowing into a walk and I came up next to them.   
“Horse needs a name, miss.”, he stated while we rode further into Valentine.   
I chuckled lightly. “Sure, what do you want me to call her? Make a suggestion.”  
His brown eyes looked at me in disbelief.   
“`M not very good at names. Jus’ look at him, Old Boy is not very imaginative.”   
We came to a halt in front of the general store and I dismounted while John did the same, hitching our horses to the post.   
He stopped next to his horse, forearms resting on its saddle, watching my mare with interest.   
“What?”, I asked him.   
He shrugged. “What ‘bout Sunshine? O-or maybe Nugget?”  
I gaped at him, mouth open in surprise.   
“Nugget?”  
John turned around and mumbled over his shoulder: “Jus’ though it suits her.”  
That was, well, that was brilliant.   
“Nugget…”  
My mare nickered in response and a small smile appeared on my lips.   
“You like it, don’t you girl?”, I cooed at her and she pressed her muzzle into my palm, begging for treats or attention, perhaps both.   
After feeding Nugget some carrots, I strolled behind John into the store. The clerk eyed me carefully, upset about a woman wearing pants and a shirt in public, even though he sold them to me; ridiculous.   
John was already looking for a small tent and coffee, while I rummaged through shirts and pants. Just one piece of them wasn’t really enough.   
We purchased the tent, coffee, some whiskey, chocolate and my new clothes, a red and a blue shirt and two new jeans.   
Afterwards, John sat down on the bench under the porch, while I came to halt in front of him.   
He offered me some chocolate and I nearly squealed out of pure joy but I controlled myself, just a bit anyhow. The taste of the sweet candy raised my mood significantly and I felt, for a change, really good in that moment.   
“Ya need anythin’ else in town?”, John asked after some moments of silence.   
The whole town was buzzing with folks, mostly men, working or strolling around. Some of them shot us curious looks, others greeted friendly and most of them simply ignored us.   
“I would die for a bath right now.”, I stated and John blushed.   
“Uh-uh. Then head over for the hotel, they got a bath there.”, he replied.   
“I know. You could use one too, Marston.”  
His mouth stopped eating instantly, eyebrows raised while he shot me a deadly look.   
“Really? Thanks for the input, Kendall.”, his tone was slightly irritated and I chuckled.   
“Tell you what; I’m going to have a real nice bath and, in the meantime, you get yourself a new haircut.”  
John was more than confused, one hand grabbing a fistful of his long black strands.   
“What the hell is wrong with my hair?”  
“Trust me; you look so much better with short hair.”  
He hesitated a bit. “Ya don’t even know how I look with it!”  
“Yes I do. Stop complaining and just do it, John.”, I said back, all while stepping down the stairs and heading towards the hotel across the street.   
The owner of the hotel was very friendly and attentive, a nice variety of all the roughness and unkindness in this time period, which I wasn’t really used to and not keen on either.   
Once in the bathroom, I stripped down my clothes and let myself sink into the hot water. A deep sigh escaped my lips and I stretched out in the tub as much as I could. It felt like heaven and I relaxed quickly, closing my eyes and letting my mind wander around.   
Every soreness of my body vanishing into the hot water and after a short time, I added some rose oil into it, absorbing and enjoying its scent.   
The subtle knock startled me out of my trance and I dismissed the bathing-girl, washing all the dirt and sweat down by myself. I had no idea what the women did with their hair back here, so I simply washed it with soap and then massaged some oil into it, in hope for some smoothness. No conditioner within sight.   
You only know how much you need and miss something, if it’s not there anymore. The luxury of a shower, a hair-dryer, a running toilet and everyday hygiene made my chest tight with homesickness.   
Damn it.   
I looked around the small bath and discovered some shaving-supplies for men on the table next to the tub, so I took advantage of them and shaved everything that needed shaving, no need to run around like a caveman. It was a bit tricky though, the razor-blade was sharp as hell and I needed to be very careful not to kill myself accidently with it.   
To the right was a small window and I watched how the sky turned from blue to purple really quick, so I decided to get out of the wonderful warm water.   
I felt like a newborn baby afterwards, hair braided into a nice French-braid, clean clothes and clean-shaven.   
To my surprise, John sat in the hotel-lobby waiting for me, one hand resting on his thigh, the other one holding a cigarette, smoking silently.   
I grinned as he looked up and I could eye his strong jaw and cheekbones without greasy hair in the way. The stitches on his right cheek still very prominent but the haircut did him good, short in the back and at the sides, a little longer on the top. Nice.   
“Well, would you look at that. There is a mighty handsome man under all this stuff.”, I teased him, gesturing at his face and he promptly blushed.   
“Shut it.”  
The clerk asked if everything was fine and I simply nodded, thanked him and turned my attention back to John.   
“Ya hungry?”, he asked and I nodded again.   
“Always am. Why?”  
He stood up, towering a short moment over me until he stepped around towards the door, flicking his cigarette into a puddle outside.   
“C’mon. Let’s get somethin’ to eat. ‘M starvin’.”, he rasped and I relented without question.   
It was hard to cross the muddy street without making a mess of myself again but I managed somehow. As we stepped through the saloon doors, I was overwhelmed by the strange smell of alcohol, whiskey, cigarette smoke and sweat.   
Not the greatest of smells.   
John gestured for me to sit down at one of the tables on the right side, next to the small fire-place, while he was going to fetch us something to eat.   
My gaze followed his backside as he strolled towards the bar and I bit my lip in agitation, damn, he was handsome or maybe I was just totally under-fucked and craved for everyone with a dick between his legs.   
Shit.   
I adverted my eyes again, watching the people around me with interest. Men playing poker, men drinking themselves into unconsciousness, men trying to hire working-girls, working-girls trying to shrug them of, or invite them in.   
It was odd, this time-period. Most things that were taboo back in my time, were totally fine here and the other way around.   
John came back after a short time with two plates in his hands and he handed me one. I thanked him and he went back to the bar once again to get some drinks, until he finally settled down in front of me.   
The food was good, some kind of steak and potatoes, better than Pearson’s food, that’s for sure.   
We ate in silence, John glancing around in the saloon, clearly avoiding my gaze and I smiled to myself. Such a fearless and brave outlaw.   
“Thank you for taking me into town, John.”, I stated after a short moment and he turned his head in my direction, brown eyes searching my face.   
“’S nothin’.”, he replied unfazed and turned his attention back to the beer bottle in his hands.  
Did I mention how big and rough his hands were? No, well there you go.   
I always had a soft spot for hands, strong, rough, calloused.   
Yes please.   
A waitress came and took our plates, smiling while she asked if we need anything else. John dismissed her, slipping her some coins as a tip.   
He cleared his throat awkwardly and I could sense he wanted to say something but just in that moment, a familiar voice spoke up behind me.   
“Well, would ya look at that. Ya two havin’ some alone time or what?”  
I turned in my chair to meet blue-green eyes, one eyebrow cocked, a smug smile on his lips.   
John turned into a tomato as he spoke up.   
“Shut up, Morgan.”  
Arthur simply chuckled, sat down next to me while Lenny took the remaining chair on the other side.   
Lenny? Arthur? In the saloon?  
I needed a short moment, but then it clicked.   
Oh shit.


	6. well, shit

It may be possible to watch over one drunken outlaw, maybe, but to keep an eye out over three drunken fools was nearly impossible.  
So, I simply gave up after some time.  
I sat cross-legged on one of the red couches on the first-floor, watching John, Arthur and Lenny carefully as they played around like teenagers, tossing glasses and provoking other men, laughing loudly over everything and nothing, dancing and having fun.  
Smiling, I took a sip of my warm beer, trying to calm my nerves a bit but it was hopeless. I would’ve killed for a coke right now but apparently the saloon didn’t have it in stock, even though it was already invented back then.  
I huffed loudly in annoyance as a stranger sat down next to me and I eyed him suspiciously; he was old, dirty and smelled awful.  
“Hey there, miss. Ya’all alone by yerself or what? Needs some company?”, he slurred and I shook my head defensively.  
“No, thank you.”, I stated dismissively.  
But the man didn’t give up that easy and as his hand landed on my thigh I flinched away.  
“Ah, no’need to be like that, missy. I can show’ya areal goo’ time.”  
He leaned in closer and I was just about to shatter my beer bottle over his head, as a large hand grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up, back against the railing of the floor.  
“Ya heard the lady, dumbass. Now, get lost or I show ya a real good time! Promise ya that.”, Arthur threatened in a deep voice and the stranger tripped backwards over his feet, fleeing down the stairs.  
A shaky breath escaped my lips and I smiled a bit wary.  
“Thank you, Arthur.”  
He slumped down on the couch, his thigh touching my knee, his left arm reaching out to lay down on the backrest behind me, sighing deeply once he was comfy.  
“Damn girl. The hell was that?”, he asked, head turned in my direction.  
I shrugged. “Dunno. Feller came by and though I might be a nice snack.”  
Arthur snorted and laughed at the same time, a small blush creeping up his cheeks.  
“That’s… yeah. Whatever ya say.”, he stuttered in response.  
“Why is a man like you so easy to unsettle, Morgan?”, I asked curious, the alcohol making me a bit too brave.  
Elena always told me I was lousy drunk, too flirty, too blunt, too sexist, too funny.  
“A man like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”, he snapped back, eyes darting over my face.  
I held his gaze, leaning in to poke his chest with my forefinger, trying hard to ignore his muscles flexing under the black shirt.  
“Strong, seasoned, takes no bullshit from everyone but if someone dares to say something flirty or, lord have mercy, mentions sex, you...”  
His hand stopped me midsentence, rough palm covering my lips, eyes wide in shock.  
“Jesus, woman. The hell is wrong with ya? Can’t go runnin’ ‘round talkin’ like that all’the time.”, he nearly whispered and I chuckled against his hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling it away to speak again.  
“Why not? You afraid?”  
He huffed. “No. But that mouth of yars will get’ya into a whollatta trouble if ya not careful.”  
“Ah, mouths are created to cause trouble, Mr. Morgan.”, I said dryly and his head dipped down, the brim of his hat shielding his eyes, a smirk on his lips.  
“Jesus...”, he grumbled but then he laughed quietly; his left hand grabbed mine, still poking his chest, holding it away from him.  
“If I remember it correctly, ya were the one who ran away last night.”, he stated low, his voice deep and raspy, eyes coming up again to meet mine.  
His body leaned in closer, nearly touching and I was a mess, melting under his all-consuming glance.  
My eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, without my permission of course and he noticed, of course he noticed and a smug smile formed slowly on his lips; so much for easy to unsettle; but John’s yelling tore me out of my trance and prevented me from doing something really dumb.  
“Lenny! Lenny?!”  
Wait... that was normally Arthur’s part.  
We looked up simultaneously, watching how John stumbled down the stairs after Lenny, both of them swaying dangerously from side to side.  
“Oh crap. We need to get them, Arthur.”, I said and was already on my feet, chasing after them, Arthur following suit but not that fast, because he was also tumbling, still drunk.  
I was a bit curious about how this mission would evolve with John in it and, well, it was not was I was expecting, that’s for sure.  
By the time we stepped out the saloon-doors, Lenny and John were chased down the street by some lawmen. Arthur reacted quickly, given his state at least and dragged me by my arm in the alley between the saloon and the general store, pinning me back against the wooden wall, shielding my body with his.  
He was way too close, but my mind had other things to process than this.  
“What the fuck?”, my voice was quiet and hoarse, Arthur simply nodded.  
“Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes.”, he whispered back. “But ya already knew that, right?”, he added after a short moment and I sighed.  
“No, sometimes things evolve different than I thought they would.”  
“Huh.”  
“A quiet drink, tz.”  
Arthur chuckled in response and I tried to get a look at the street around his shoulder, but I just saw the half of it and Lenny and John were nowhere to be seen.  
“Why are we hiding exactly?”, I asked him in a hushed tone and he laughed again.  
“See that feller over there?”  
My eyes followed his outstretched hand as he pointed at the man who had ratted John and Lenny out, walking alongside the lawmen towards the stables.  
“Yeah.”  
“Well, let’s jus’ say we had a little misunderstandin’ as well.”  
“Oh, great.”  
After several moments, the air seemed clear and Arthur stepped back, one hand scratching the back of his neck.  
“U-uhm. Ya wanna head back to camp?”, he asked sheepishly, words still slurred.  
“What about them?”, I asked, referring to Lenny and John.  
“Ah, they’ll come home sooner or later.”  
I shrugged. “Okay. You sure you can ride?”  
“Dunno.”  
The answer was; no. He couldn’t.  
He was way too wasted to mount up, so I dragged him over to the hotel, rented a room and helped him up the stairs.  
The plan was to get him into bed and then I’d sleep on the floor, because John still had my tent and my new bedroll on his horse, at least I hoped that.  
As I unlocked the door, he leaned heavily on my shoulder, nearly crushing me under his weight, grunting and huffing all the way.  
How he managed to be that clear a few moments ago and now this, well, it was unexplainable to me.  
I dumped him on the right side of the bed, the frame squeaking under his body-weight and he groaned in response, stretching out above the covers.  
“Great.”, I muttered to myself as I reached for his boots, satchel and gun belt. Removing them wasn’t that easy and I panted afterwards, sitting down next to him on the mattress, catching my breath.  
Arthur was already half asleep, eyes fighting against the need to shut down.  
I hesitated a bit but then snatched his hat from where it lay half on his head, admiring its form, weight and smooth leather for a short moment before I put it down on the nightstand.  
My eyes trailed over Arthur’s sleeping form, legs stretched out, feet in black socks nearly hanging over the edge, one arm resting on his stomach, the other next to him. His face was so peaceful in that moment, the usual frown of worry, anger and sadness gone. He looked young, way younger than he normally did and fucking cute.  
Before I could stop myself, my left hand reached out and gently caressed his cheek, eliciting a small grunt out of him. His stubble scratched my palm a bit but it was smoother than I’d thought.  
He leaned into my touch, head turning in my direction and I held my breath for a short moment, afraid to wake him up again but he didn’t.  
I was impressed how fast and deep this man could fall asleep, that was truly a gift. I retreated my hand from his face, successfully fighting the urge to explore more of his body.  
A deep sigh escaped my lips and I chuckled to myself, shaking my head while standing up again.  
What a day.  
I inspected the floor and cursed under my breath. It was dirty, hard and seemed not very comfortable. The fireplace had the small room warmed up to a pleasant temperature but I still shivered a bit under my clothes.  
So, I made a quick decision and slipped under the covers of the bed. Certainly, after taking off my boots and pants, because; let’s be honest; nobody wants to sleep in pants, careful not to wake the outlaw sleeping next to me.  
The bed was a bit too small for the two of us, one reason for that was the large man already sleeping in it and I made myself as small as I could, curling on my side into a tiny ball, knees nearly on my chest to warm myself up as fast as possible.  
His arm rested a few inches away and I could sense his incredibly body heat on my back. I needed to fight against my inner-me not to turn around and snuggle up to this human-furnace on two legs behind me.  
After I extinguished the lamp on my side of the bed, I tried to shut down every thought in my head but, well, it wasn’t that easy.  
Sleeping in one bed with one of the most attractive man I ever laid eyes on, was kind of difficult. And I never was a good sleeper, I always had problems with sleeping someplace new. All the strange and uncommon noises, smells and other things. It made falling asleep nearly impossible every time.  
Arthur’s steady breathing calmed me though, so I focused on it, trying to breath with him, deep and even.  
Every time he twitched in his sleep, or mumbled something, I was pulled out of sleep again but after what felt like hours, I finally dropped off. 

*

I woke up way too hot and I needed a short moment to proceed where exactly I was, still dizzy from sleep, but then it came rushing down on me and I woke with a start. Panting, my eyes darted around the hotel room, until they landed on Arthur, still fast asleep next to me.  
What the…?  
Apparently, my inner-me had won during the night, because our bodies where tangled, my naked legs between his clothed ones, my arm was wrapped around his midsection, my head was resting on his shoulder before I woke up.  
I propped myself up on my left elbow to untangle our bodies but my movement startled Arthur out of his sleep and I froze. His body trembled next to mine, limbs stretching, bones cracking back in place, eyes fluttering until they opened slowly.  
At first he was a bit disoriented, just like me a minute ago but then his eyes landed on my hand on his chest, down to our legs, still tangled and his expression shifted into total confusion, until he lifted those blue pools to mine, searching my face.  
“The hell…?”, he grumbled lowly, voice breaking and hoarse from sleep.  
I blinked a few times, trying to compose myself back to reality.  
“I- u-hm. Morning.”, my own voice wasn’t better than his and I coughed slightly.  
“Mornin’.”, came his reply and I finally untangled myself from him, settling down on my side of the bed, sheets covering my bare legs.  
One hand came up to his face, dragging across it and then he exhaled loudly.  
“’M sorry if I did somethin’…”, he began but I interrupted him, hands in the air.  
“Is fine, Arthur. Nothing happened. I- well. I think I spooned you in my sleep, so I think I need to apologize.”  
Arthur chuckled, hand dropping back on the mattress.  
“’S okay.”  
I looked towards the window, it was bright outside and it was raining, like raining cats and dogs.  
Wonderful.  
“Ah, shit. What happened last night?”, he growled, turning around on his side, facing me.  
“Well, I don’t know what exactly happened to John and Lenny, but yeah... You were too drunk to ride back so I thought it may be better to sleep here.”, I explained, fumbling with the sheets in my lap.  
“Damn.”, he mumbled and turned around fully onto his belly, head hiding in one of the pillows. I heard him groaning into it and my heart made a little flip at the sight. He was so cute right now. His light-brown hair was messy from sleep, his backside looking way too appetizing in this dark-blue jeans and black shirt half tucked into it. I could admire a tiny stripe of skin between his waistband and the hem of shirt and I sucked in an audible short breath.  
Oh Lord.  
I bit my bottom-lip and he caught me as he turned his head back around to look at me.  
“What?”, he whispered and I shook my head, blushing deep red.  
“Nothing.”  
“Sure.”, he rasped out as he collapsed onto his back again, the whole bed shaking under us.  
“Jesus. ‘M too old for this nonsense.”  
I frowned. “Thirty-six ain’t that old, Arthur.”  
He gawked at me in surprise.  
Oh, I shouldn’t have known that, right?  
“What else do ya know ‘bout me, woman?”, he hissed under his breath.  
“E-ehm. Not that much. Hosea told me how old you are, so…”  
“Yeah, sure. And pigs can fly. Ya know what? If ya know everythin’ ‘bout ole me, it’s only fair if ya tell me some things ‘bout yarself in return.”, he drawled, blue eyes holding mine.  
I shrugged. “Okay, what do you want to know?”  
Arthur hesitated a bit. “How old are ya?”  
“Twenty-eight.”, I breathed out, slightly relieved about that easy question.  
“Why ‘re not married?”  
“Really?”, I griped back.  
“Yeah, really. ‘M curious.”  
“Fine.”, I huffed, but his prying gaze made me continue quickly.  
“Well, I was engaged once but it obviously didn’t work out. We were together for more than five years, he was good man, at least I thought so. My daddy never really liked him, but that didn’t matter to me. I loved him, really did. But everything changed when my dad died, I changed, he changed, we drifted apart, end of the story. His family never liked me anyway.”  
Arthur watched me all the time, he made me tingly, butterflies roaming around in my stomach.  
“That sounds quite familiar.”, he said lowly and I flinched.  
“Yeah, but Tom never made me work for him or used me for his benefits alone.”  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how Arthur froze, eyes hard as steel.  
“So, ya already know ‘bout Mary then?”, he said dryly and I nodded.  
“You’ll get a letter soon; she’ll ask for your help with her little brother, Jamie.”  
He laughed quietly. “Already got it.”  
I raised my head to looked at him. “Are you going to see her?”  
“Dunno. Do I have a choice?”  
“Arthur… You always have a choice.”  
He fell silent after that, gaze trapped on his hands. I could literally see how the gears were turning inside his head.  
“How did yar father die?”, he asked afterwards and I tensed.  
“Cancer. To be more specific; lung cancer.”  
I couldn’t stop the sad feelings that rushed through me, memories long buried coming back to the surface.  
“That’s why ya don’t like people smokin’?”  
Arthur watched me carefully, eyes giving nothing away and I nodded.  
“Yeah. I think it’s not known just yet but smoking can be a cause for lung cancer. Furthermore, it has other nasty side effects.”  
He nodded in understanding, then he tilted his head a bit to look at the fireplace.  
“How do ya know all’this stuff ‘bout to happen?”  
I sighed. “Well, I already told you; it’s like a feeling that something happens. Like, flashbacks, sort of.”  
It was difficult to find a way around it, no way I’m telling him the whole truth, he wouldn’t believe me either way, so I tried to stick with that explanation.  
He nodded again but then he suddenly stood up, slipping his boots back on and tightening his gun-belt around his hips, hat in his hands, he turned to look at me.  
“I’ll go and wait over at the saloon, get us some breakfast. You, u-uh, get dressed and meet me there.”  
With that, he headed out the door and I exhaled loudly in frustration. 

*

A few days passed after that night, I finally had my own tent, sitting under the big tree behind Arthur’s wagon. I continued to teach Jack everything he wanted to know and also things he didn’t want to, like mathematics and science. He was very good and talented in writing and reading but all the other stuff was hard for him, so I tried to be gentle not to overwhelm him with it.  
I also wasn’t quite sure what was already common knowledge and what wasn’t, so I kept it low and easy.  
Lenny and John weren’t arrested that night, they managed to get back to camp unscathed, except for some bad hangovers, but well, that was not my problem.  
Arthur seemed to avoid me since then but maybe I just imagined things, because he wasn’t really around at all to tell if he really did.  
The day we came back in the morning, he left with Hosea hunting down that mean bear and then he disappeared again, to rob that train with John, Sean and Charles.  
I would’ve loved to see that, because this was one of my favorite missions in the game.  
The way he stood on that oil-wagon, damn.  
Maybe it was a good thing I wasn’t with them; I would’ve jumped him right then and there.  
I snickered, lost in thoughts and with this, I draw the attention of the others around the fire at myself.  
“What is it, Sophie?”, Hosea asked and I blushed hard.  
“Ah, nothing.”  
I glanced around, nearly the whole gang was gathered around the camp-fire, a little party going on currently to celebrate the successful train-robbery.  
The only face I couldn’t spot was Arthur’s.  
John handed me a bottle of beer, I nodded in thanks and he plopped down next to me.  
It was strange, it was odd, it was unbelievable but I slowly felt like I found my home here. The thought nearly frightened me to death but those people, these outlaws, created by a gaming-company, they felt like a second family to me. Even though a devilish voice inside told me all the time that this whole thing can’t be real, it felt like it was and with everyday that passed by, I felt more at home, more comfortable, like I belonged here.  
I had no one back at home since my daddy died, just Elena, no family, no man, no one missing me the way I’ve missed this here; being important to somebody.  
Javier began strumming his guitar and I smiled widely, lost in my own mind.  
The melody he played reminded me a bit of songs I knew and I began humming silently until John piped up next to me.  
“What’s that song called?”, he rasped out and I shrugged.  
“I doubt y’all know it, John.”  
Javier chuckled and raised one eyebrow at me.  
“Can ya play, guapa?”  
“Oh, indeed I can, cariño. But I won’t.”, I laughed hard at Javier’s baffled expression but John’s elbow, crushing in my side, stifled my laughter a bit.  
“Ouch.”  
“Play one song for us, Sophie.”, Abigail said in a friendly tone, the others agreed with her, little Jack flashing me a wide grin and clapping his hands in Abigail’s lap.  
“Please, Miss Sophie!”  
“Damnit. If y’all insist.”, I mumbled as I took the guitar from Javier, placing it on my thighs.  
I thought hard for a few minutes to find a song out of my repertoire, that wasn’t about trucks, girls or a broken heart.  
“Ah, well. It’s kind of a love song guys. So, buckle up and enjoy. I’ll only play once for y’all.”  
They shared some curious glances around, as I strummed the first chords.  
The notes were simple as fuck and I’ve played this song so many times before, my fingers played it all by themselves.  
“It was written by a man, so don’t marvel about the lyrics.”, I added before I began singing. 

_“Hey there, Delilah  
What's it like in New York city?  
I'm a thousand miles away  
But, girl, tonight you look so pretty  
Yes, you do  
Times Square can't shine as bright as you  
I swear, it's true_

_Hey there, Delilah  
Don't you worry about the distance  
I'm right there if you get lonely  
Give this song another listen  
Close your eyes  
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise  
I'm by your side_

_Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
What you do to me_

_Hey there, Delilah  
I know times are gettin' hard  
But just believe me, girl  
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar  
We'll have it good  
We'll have the life we knew we would  
My word is good_

_Hey there, Delilah  
I've got so much left to say  
If every simple song I wrote to you  
Would take your breath away  
I'd write it all  
Even more in love with me you'd fall  
We'd have it all_

_Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me_

_A thousand miles seems pretty far  
But they've got planes and trains and cars  
I'd walk to you if I had no other way  
Our friends would all make fun of us  
And we'd just laugh along because we'd know  
That none of them have felt this way_

_Delilah, I can promise you  
That by the time that we get through  
The world will never ever be the same  
And you're to blame_

_Hey there, Delilah  
You be good, and don't you miss me  
Two more years and you'll be done with school  
And I'll be makin' history like I do  
You know it's all because of you  
We can do whatever we want to  
Hey there, Delilah, here's to you  
This one's for you_

_Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
Oh, it's what you do to me  
What you do to me…”_

Crap. That song had planes and cars in it but nobody seemed to take notice of it.  
I looked up after I finished the last note, restless about their reaction over a song a hundred years from now.  
Uncle was the first one. “Well, I’ll be dammed. Ya’ve got a gorgeous voice, Miss Kendall.”  
Approving mumbles piped up and I exhaled the breath I’ve been holding back.  
“What tha fuck! That lady isa’ natural!”, Sean exclaimed on the other side of the fire and I blushed a bit.  
Hosea smiled in my direction. “I’ve never heard that song before, it was kinda strange, but in a good way. I liked it. You got more of them?”  
I nodded. “Yeah, a few.”  
More like a hundred or so. I always loved music, playing the guitar and the piano was one of my favorite hobbies back in my time.  
“Play more!”, Jack demanded with a little pout on his lips and I smiled at him.  
“Maybe tomorrow, alright?”, I soothed him and he relented, cuddling closer to his mother.  
I gave Javier his guitar back, already missing the instrument in my hands but I shifted my attention back on my beer-bottle and John, who tried to involve me in a conversation about the train-robbery. I listened only half-heartedly, thoughts running a mile per minute.  
Why did I have that uneasy feeling inside? But then it clicked; Downes.  
I totally forgot about them.  
Shit.  
Arthur had been gone for so many days, maybe he had already collected the debt.  
Crap. I looked up again, searching for Arthur or Strauss but I only found the creepy old Austrian sitting by himself under the canvas of his tent.  
Now or never.  
I excused myself from John and strolled over towards the man in question, two beer-bottles in my hands.  
“Herr Strauss.”, I greeted him and he jumped a bit, blue-grey eyes watching me with caution behind these tiny ugly glasses. We hadn’t really spoken much, just some hellos here and there.  
“Miss Kendall.”, he said politely and I sat down next to him.  
“You want one?”, I offered him a beer and he took it.  
“Thank you.”  
“_Gern geschehen._”  
His eyes widened in surprise. “My, would you look at that. _Sie sprechen Deutsch?_”  
A mischievous smile formed on his lips and I suppressed the shudder running down my spine.  
“_Ein bisschen. Meine Großmutter kam damals aus Deutschland in die USA._”  
He chuckled a bit.  
„_Wundervoll. Was kann ich für Sie tun, Frau Kendall?_“  
„_Wie läuft es mit dem Geldverleih?_”  
“_Gut. Warum fragen Sie?_”  
I switched back to English, already struggling with the tiny bit of German I knew.  
“Saw that feller down in Valentine, sick-old man. He was in need for some money, so I though you may speak with him, he could be a new costumer.”, I told him, thinking that was the best way to get the information I needed without raising suspicion.  
“Mr. Downes? Yeah, he already owes us, Frau Kendall.”  
What a dumbass.  
“Ah, then I’m a bit late for this lead, sorry.”, I said sweetly and Herr Strauss smiled, shaking his head.  
“Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the effort either way.”  
I took a sip from my bottle and watched the camp, the people sitting around the fire, singing dirty songs and laughing all the time. They were happy now and I wanted it to stay that way.  
“How much time do the debtors have to repay us?”, I asked nonchalant, watching Strauss out of the corner of my eyes.  
He boomed with pride, eager to educate me into business.  
“Depends on the debt. Some a few weeks, others just days.”  
I nodded. “Ah, I see. What about Downes? He looked very sick last time I saw him; he may be dead in a few weeks.”  
Strauss patted my knee and smiled. “I know. Arthur usually collects the debts for us, he already collected some but Downes isn’t due yet. Maybe in a few days or so.”  
Oh, thank god.  
I sighed in relieve and Strauss piped up again.  
“If you will excuse me now, I think I’m ready to call it a night.”  
He handed me the empty beer bottle and I took it while standing up, smiling.  
“Yeah, sure. _Gute Nacht, Herr Strauss._”  
He snickered. “_Gute Nacht, Frau Kendall._”  
That was easier than I thought it would be and after I put the bottles away, I performed a little victory-dance behind the food-wagon, dancing in circles and smiling to myself.  
Now I just need to make sure that Arthur didn’t catch that fucking TB.  
Strolling back to my tent, waving the others goodnight, I noticed someone sitting at the back of the tree my tent was next to and I stopped but then I recognized Arthur’s hat lying in the grass and I resumed my walking.  
“Hi.”  
Arthur only grunted in response, right hand coming up to tip the brim of his hat, until he realized it wasn’t there and he looked at it in confusion.  
The reason for his state, probably was the nearly empty whiskey-bottle sitting between his bent legs, the other hand fumbling with the loose cap of it.  
Oh no.  
There he was, the heartbroken, sad, disappointed and deeply hurt man. The outcome of every decision, every path and every crossway of his life. My heart broke all over again at the sight of him and I sat down on his left side, patting his elbow resting on his knee.  
“You wanna talk about it?”, I offered in a soothing voice but he shook is head.  
“Nah. ‘M fine.”, he mumbled low and I didn’t urge him on.  
We sat for a while in silence, watching the dark sky, the stars and the moon. Listening to the creatures of the night, an owl, coyotes, Uncle snoring loudly after he’d gone to bed.  
It was peaceful, until Arthur spoke up again, nearly whispering.  
“I saw her today.”  
I turned my head to look at him, his own was hanging low, eyes fixated on the bottle, hands fumbling nervously with the tag.  
“I guessed that much. How was it?”  
He let out a small huff, raising the bottle in his hands.  
“How ya think it was?”  
I waited patiently for him to continue and he did after taking another swig from the brown liquid.  
“I reall’ thought she wanted to see _me_. I wanted to prove ya wrong, that she didn’t only needed me to help her… But ya was right again.”  
Arthur’s voice broke at some points, fighting against the mixed feelings inside him, afraid to show me the real emotions battling under the surface.  
I felt such a compassion for him in that moment. All his life, he was the one everybody relied on, he was always the first in line to either fight, attack or protect, the enforcer number one. He gave everything he had, to this gang, to Dutch, even to Mary and maybe even Eliza and Isaac but he always ended up alone, heart-broken and sad.  
It wasn’t fair, not at all.  
“Jamie was in trouble and o’course I helped her again… I- uh. I dunno what to think right now.”, he breathed out but then he frowned and turned his head in my direction. “Dunno why even tell ya that at’all.”  
I chuckled quietly, patting his elbow absently again.  
“Is okay. Sometimes we just need someone to talk about all this fucked up shit we encounter on our way through life.”  
I reached for the whiskey-bottle and he gave it to me, watching as I drank the last slug of it. I winced at the burn running down my esophagus.  
“Fuck it, that’s some strong stuff.”, I spat out, reading the label while coughing in discomfort, not used to strong liquor at all.  
Arthur’s chest rumbled with laughter and he stretched his legs, head falling back against trunk, hands resting on his belly.  
“God woman, ya have a tongue that can even make a priest blush.”, he grumbled and I snickered.  
“That’s not very hard. Priests are prim little bastards.”, I shot back and Arthur rolled his eyes in return.  
“Nah, look at Swanson.”  
“I prefer not to; but Swanson is like an accident you can’t tear your eyes from.”, I mumbled and elicited another deep laughter from Arthur.  
I moved my legs to sit cross-legged, forearms on my knees, eyes roaming over the landscape in front of us, deeply inhaling the clear and chilly air. The moonlight illuminated the trees, the river and the mountains in creepy shades of black and white but it was still breathtaking.  
“It’s so beautiful here.”, I whispered without thinking.  
“It is.”, came Arthur’s reply and I looked over my shoulder, catching his eyes as he watched me.  
My stomach made backflips and flic-flacs, roaming with butterflies, my hands were sweaty and goosebumps appeared on my skin. I needed to avert my eyes from him before I would hyperventilate.  
Arthur bent his right leg again, elbow resting on his knee, upper body leaning a bit forward.  
“Thank ya.”, he said under his breath, eyes trailing down to his worn boots.  
“You’re welcome. But for what exactly?”  
“Everythin’.”  
I hesitated a bit but then I spoke up again: “I think it’s best for you, if you just let her go. Move on, forget her, or try to at least. You can be happy without her, trust me.”  
Arthur lifted one eyebrow at me in question.  
“Is that so?”  
I nodded. “Sure is. Mary is like venom for you, always was, always will be. She’ll never figure out what a good and wonderful man lays underneath all this gruff demeanor.”  
He kept quiet so I moved on.  
“She uses you every single time, right? That’s not healthy, Arthur. You need to step up for yourself and stop hiding your light under a bushel!”  
He frowned. “A bushel? The heck…?”  
“Ah, come on. Just a phrase. The point is, you’re a good man and it’s time for you to act like one!”  
“’M not a good man.”, he objected and I groaned in annoyance.  
“Fine, then don’t.”, I spat out. “Your choice to be unlucky the rest of your life.”  
I was mean, I knew it but I couldn’t stop myself.  
“Who said I’m unlucky?”, he growled, hands switching between forming fists and back to normal.  
“Oh, you’re the epitome of happiness. Pardon me, your Highness.”, I mocked and Arthur grumbled in response.  
We sat in silence after that, both lost in thoughts until I started to get up, time to get into bed.  
Arthur’s left hand stopped my movements though, catching my right wrist in a firm grip.  
Surprised, I stilled and looked at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for some kind of explanation.  
I could see how he tried hard to find the right words, brows knitted in concentration, eyes fixated on my wrist in his large hands.  
“’M a’fool.”, he simply stated and I shrugged.  
“No, you’re not.”  
“Sure I am. A-an’ m‘sorry.”, his voice was deep and husky.  
Arthur wasn’t looking at me, so I placed my left hand on his cheek, turning his head in my direction, catching these beautiful eyes with mine, thumb nearly touching the corner of his lips.  
“For what? No need to be sorry. Just try to make things better. I know you can do it.”, I objected and he sighed deeply, his breath rushing over my face and I felt myself blush.  
He was so close again, smelling like wood, horses and musk, clouding my senses in a dangerous way.  
“Ain’t a good man.”, he rasped out, eyes dropping down to my lips, then back up. “’M a sorry fool. Chasin’ after somethin’ long gone.”  
I nearly yelled in frustration; how could someone be that stubborn?  
”Goddammit! Listen, I’m only going to say this one more time; you’re no…”  
Arthur leaned forward in one swift motion, closing the gap between us and pressing his lips onto mine, silencing me mid-sentence.  
What the…?  
His lips were slightly chapped but also soft and warm and I shuddered against him, closing my eyes in pure instinct, sighing against his mouth.  
His right hand came up to cradle my neck and I felt my body leaning in closer to his, following his lead. My own hand dipping from where it was still placed on his cheek into his short hair, grabbing a handful of it and eliciting a sweet moan from him.  
Oh, Lord. I was lost, so fucking lost.  
Arthur gently nipped on my bottom lip with his teeth, biting down softly and I couldn’t stop the gasp escaping my mouth. He instantly took advantage of that, his tongue licking tenderly over my lips and without a second thought, I opened up for him.  
My heart bumped in record time against my rib-cage, thoughts running wild and crazy, desire pumping through my veins, heat pooling deep down in my stomach.  
He repositioned his grip on my wrist, letting go and trailing it over my arm up to my shoulder, my body shuddered under his touch, muscles twitching uncontrollably.  
The moment his tongue flickered softly against mine, I lost it and my breath got caught in the back of my throat and I swear, I could hear someone singing Hallelujah somewhere.  
Who would’ve thought that Arthur Morgan would kiss like that?  
Well, me, but I never thought I would experience that on my own because let’s be honest, that’s some fucked up bullshit only dreams were made of.  
He took his time, exploring my mouth with expertise, his rough hands caressing every part of my body he could reach, my breath came harsh and fast.  
Before I could think too hard about it, I broke the kiss and moved to straddle him, his hands coming up instinctively to rest on my waist.  
“Well, aren’t ya eager.”, Arthur teased breathless, a smirk on his lips.  
“Shut up, Morgan.”, I purred back, before dipping down again, kissing him with force, hungry for more. His strong arms encircled my body, muscles flexing under the fabric of his blue shirt and I let my hands wander over these broad shoulders, feeling him tremble and twitch under my touch.  
He tasted a bit like whiskey and peppermint but I didn’t really mind, he tasted good, way too good. My hands sunk in his hair again and he tilted his head slightly back and to the side, so he could deepen the kiss, tongues dancing around one another, playing, sucking, fighting.  
We found an arousing rhythm, breaths mixing, his stubble scratching a bit on my soft skin. My hips moved on their own accord, grinding down on his lap, to get some kind of release and he sucked in a sharp breath and moaned loudly.  
“Ya gonna be the death of me, woman.”, he whispered lowly, voice even deeper than normal.  
I stared into his hooded and glazed eyes, a warm feeling bubbling up inside my body.  
“I wouldn’t go that far.”, I breathed back, lips connecting once again.  
Arthur pressed my upper-body flush against his, hands roaming over my back down to my thighs and I moaned in his mouth until he suddenly froze.  
I looked up in confusion and he simply hushed me with one finger on my lips, eyes darting to the right where footsteps clattered not that far away.  
Oh crap.  
Arthur motioned for me to stand up and I obliged quickly, brushing the dirt off my knees, fixing my shirt and hair to look presentable again.  
Arthur did the same, standing next to me with a lopsided grin on his face, adjusting his full-grown erection in his jeans sheepishly.  
I chuckled quietly, hand pressed against my mouth to keep myself from laughing out loud, Arthur only shook his head in amusement and grinned.  
Dutch came into view, his brown eyes darting between the two of us, narrowing a tiny bit.  
“Arthur. Miss Kendall.”, he greeted dryly.  
“Dutch.”  
“Mr. Van der Linde.”  
“What are you two doing out here?”, his tone was blunt, clearly not pleased about the whole situation.  
Arthur scratched the back of his neck in discomfort.  
“U-uh. I-I… Well, I wanted t-to… Eh…”, he stuttered and I rolled my eyes at him, interrupting his little speech before I could get more awkward than it already was.  
“He simply wanted escort me to my tent, Mr. Van der Linde.”, I spoke up, ignoring the daggers Dutch stared in my direction.  
“So, I gladly appreciate your company but I’m going to hit the hay now, been a long day. Gentlemen.”  
I turned and made my way around the tree to my little tent, crouching into it. Placing my boots outside, I closed the tent-flap behind me, collapsing onto my bedroll with a loud thud.  
I heard that Arthur and Dutch were still talking but I couldn’t make out exactly what, so I tried to blank their faint voices out, concentrating hard on falling asleep.  
Regardless, I couldn’t.  
As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw Arthur’s handsome face right in front of me, my lips still swollen from our kiss, his taste still on my tongue, my body aching with unsatisfied desire.  
What the fuck?  
Did that really happened?  
What the hell is wrong with me?!  
Why have I done this?  
All these questions were running through my mind, my head was spinning and after some time, I finally fell asleep, this fucking hot cowboy even riding through my dreams.


	7. strawberry

Arthur had a problem and he knew it.  
He knew it by the way his eyes searched for brown hair and grey eyes without him noticing it.  
He knew it by the way his heart sped up every time he saw her.  
He knew it by the way his stomach made little flips when she was close.  
He knew it and he hated it.  
And he was so fucking tired, tired of everything, tired to the bone, tired to the point he thought hard about a vacation somewhere quiet and far away from here.  
Regardless, he couldn’t.  
His hands worked on their own, scribbling words and sentences that went crazy in his mind trying to make sense of all this bullshit around him.  
His eyes flickered up from time to time, watching a certain woman sitting next to Jack and his heart was ready to race again.  
Damnit.  
Before he knew what was going on, his hands filled a whole page with her face, every detail worked out perfectly. Her big grey eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, her tiny, slightly uneven nose with all these damn freckles, these full and kissable lips formed into a little smile, her high cheekbones, the soft features of her jaw and chin, long brown hair in a beautiful braid that accentuated her neck and jawline.  
Lord have mercy, she was absolutely stunning in her own way.  
Arthur wasn’t quite sure what exactly it was; maybe it was the kindness she showed around Jack, maybe it was the way she treated everyone in camp friendly and sometimes playful, maybe it was the sarcastic tone she wore around him, maybe it was her solicitude for him and everybody else or maybe it was all this together which caused him to kiss her last night.  
That was dumb, he knew it but he couldn’t help himself in that moment.  
He was drunk, sure but not that drunk to use it as an excuse.  
Arthur had been worn out, angry and sad about that whole encounter with Mary and he was surprised to hear Sophie’s clear and beautiful voice when he entered camp after that, singing a song he didn’t knew, so he just grabbed that damn whiskey-bottle and drank himself into misery, trying hard to forget everything around him.  
That changed the moment Sophie sat down next to him, patting his arm and sending shivers down his spine, smelling like mint and flowers.  
Her closeness was way too comforting, her words made sense somehow even though he would never admit it and he lost himself in the endless pool of that grey eyes, stumbling and falling deeper and deeper.  
Arthur had reacted on impulse, closing the gap and kissing those tempting lips to shut her up but, well, he never would’ve imagined that she reacted the way she did, straddling him and testing his self-control in a dangerous way.  
It was a bold move. He assumed she was maybe a bit attracted towards him, the way she looked at him while dancing, the way her eyes dropped down to his lips every now and then, the way she was cuddled up against him in that hotel but he couldn’t be exactly sure because his self-doubt prevented him from thinking any women would want him.  
A powerful slap across the face would’ve been a more conceivable reaction to this than kissing him back but, yeah… No words for that.  
If it hadn’t been for Dutch, he didn’t know how much further it would’ve gone and he hated to admit it, but he had wanted it, so badly.  
Last time he got laid was years ago and Sophie pressed all the right buttons without realizing it, making him feel like a teen again, restless and hungry for more.  
His boner outlasted nearly the whole night, adding another sleepless night to his schedule alone under his canvas and the thought of Sophie just a few feet away wasn’t helpful at all.  
“Herr Morgan.”  
Strauss ripped him out of his thoughts and he shut his journal quickly with one hand.  
“Herr Strauss.”, he rasped, looking the old man up and down.  
“Are you busy at the moment?”  
Arthur scratched the back of his neck. “No. Why?”  
“I think it’s time for Mr. Downes to pay back what he owes us, Mr. Morgan.”, the older man said, his accent thick and heavy.  
“Ah, I see.”  
“Would you be so kind?”  
Arthur stood up from his cot, left hand grabbing his hat and placing it on his head, the other tucking his journal back in his satchel.  
“Sure.”, he drawled back, already heading toward his horse.  
“Thank you kindly, Herr Morgan.”, Strauss called after him and he simply waved in a dismissive way.  
Dirty old man.  
The golden coat of his new mare shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sun and he patted her neck affectionally, the horse rewarding him with a soft nicker.  
She was a good one, an American Standardbred and he got her for free, paid nothing for her. Found the mare with her previous owner in the middle of nowhere, tried to help the older man to get her shoe back on but a snake spooked her and, well; one aimed kick and the man was laying in the dirty ground, skull shattered into pieces.  
It took Arthur quite some time to get her, she was furious, white tail whipping from side to side, head high, dancing around the Heartlands.  
He needed all his knowledge and patience to get her but it was worth it. She had already warmed up to him and she was getting really needy, always begging for treats and affection.  
Arthur happily obliged though, brushing over the dappled golden coat with long strokes, cleaning the fur from dirt and old sweat.  
Since Kieran had joined the gang properly, he took care of the horses and Arthur had to admit, he did a good, really good but he liked to look after his horse on his own from time to time.  
Someone nudged his shoulder and he turned his head, chuckling as Sophie’s mare nibbled at his gun belt, soft nose searching for hidden treats.  
The buckskin mare was running around freely with the other horses but decided to beg for his attention as well.  
“Here ya go, girls.”, he cooed softly, slipping every horse a carrot.  
Both horses nickered in response, nudging his hands to get more.  
“Nah, ya two had enough. Get lost, girl. We gotta job to do.”, he said to the buckskin mare, turning to face his horse again.  
After finishing brushing the palomino mare, he saddled her up quickly, fastening the chinch carefully, hands working on their own after so many years of practice.  
She took the bit of his latest purchase, a new dark-brown one-ear bridle matching his saddle, without hesitation and he stroked gently through her white mane, rewarding her with affection.  
“Such a good girl, ain’t ya?”  
“You going somewhere?”, a soft voice called behind him and he jumped, not knowing that someone stood that close.  
Arthur turned his head, catching Sophie’s grey eyes, one eyebrow crooked in question.  
“Mhm.”, he simply stated, attention focusing back on his horse.  
“Where?”, she demanded and Arthur sighed.  
“None of yer business.”, he shot back, maybe a bit too harsh.  
Sophie grabbed his arm, turning him around to face her, a deep scowl shown clearly on her face.  
“Arthur… Please.”, she nearly whispered and he sighed again, exhaling audibly.  
Her grey eyes searched his, fingers still clutching at his blue shirt. This little contact alone made his heart flutter again, muscles flexing under her touch.  
Arthur hooked his thumbs in his gun-belt, shifting his weight on one foot, her eyes followed the movement of his hands down and she blushed slightly.  
He wondered for a brief moment why.  
“Collecting debts for Strauss. Why ya askin’?”, he heard himself saying, suppressing the urge to grab a cigarette out of his satchel. He knew she didn’t like that, so for whatever reason, he quashed the need deep in his head.  
Sophie took a shaky breath, fingers squeezing his arm slightly.  
“Can I come with you?”, she asked and he snickered.  
“What? Why?”  
The look she shot him was pleading, eyes telling him without words what he needed to know and his snicker faltered until it stopped.  
Something would happen there and she knew it. 

*

They rode in silence until they reached the Downes ranch, a tiny ranch just outside of Valentine with a few buildings scattered around the property.  
Arthur dismounted near the house with a little garden to the right, hitching his horse at the fence of it. Sophie followed suit, eyes focusing on a man working with a rake between the crops and Arthur recognized that man after a short moment; it was the one collecting for the poor by the stables in Valentine and the one who saved that big dumb Tommy from his destiny to die on that muddy street back during that goddamn barfight.  
“Well, would ya look at that.”, Arthur mumbled under his breath while stepping closer to the gate.  
Sophie stopped him in his tracks though, one hand on his arm again. He hesitated a bit, one eyebrow risen in question.  
“What?”  
She swallowed then pointed at the debtor.  
“You see him?”, she asked and he nodded.  
“Yeah.”  
“Listen.”, she only added and he frowned suspiciously, waiting for something to happen.  
Then Downes coughed, deeply, raspy, again and again. He coughed over and over, wheezing between his fits, hardly able to breathe properly, barely holding himself up on the stick of that rake.  
“Jesus... The hell was that?”, Arthur whispered, once the coughing subsided and Downes got back to work.  
“Tuberculosis. Final stage. That man over there will be dead in a few weeks.”, she simply stated and Arthur gawked at her then back to Downes.  
What?  
Why did Strauss borrow money to someone that ill?  
That was beneath dumb in his eyes.  
“Well, shit.”  
“Shit indeed. Let me do the talking. How much does he owe us?”, she stated and Arthur frowned.  
“Fifty dollars; but w-wait a’minute.”, he began but Sophie didn’t listen, she stepped around him quickly and headed for Downes.  
“Sophie!”, he called after her.  
Arthur’s call rose Downes’ head in confusion and his eyes widened at the sight of the woman stalking up towards him.  
The sick man paled visibly, backing up slowly against the wooden fence, arms risen in defeat.  
“You…”, Downes stuttered, eyes wide.  
Sophie wore a blank expression as she stopped a few feet away from Thomas Downes and Arthur leaned his body against the fence watching with interest what would happen next, forearms resting on the railing.  
He wasn’t quite sure what exactly was going on but she wanted the lead, so she got it.  
His eyes wandered up and down her backside and he smiled a bit, he never thought that black jeans and a red blouse would look that hot on a woman.  
“I told you not to do it, Downes.”, she spat at the older man, hands settling on her hips.  
“I- uh- I know but we need the money, miss. T-they need’it.”, Downes said, pointing at the farm house where just in that moment a woman and a boy emerged from, Arthur sighed deeply and grumbled to himself: “Great.”  
Sophie raised her right hand and pointed at the sick man, her voice deep and even, an unspoked threat in clearly in it.  
“I gave you a chance, Thomas Downes. A chance to save your family from that fucking debt. You’ll die soon and you know it. You cursed them on purpose, you just…”, her voice broke and Arthur stepped forward in the garden, simply ignoring that Downes woman and the boy, reaching for Sophie’s elbow.  
He had no idea what she was talking about but he wanted her to stop, he would do that in his way; the only way he knew and was good at.  
“My turn.”, Arthur growled, a smirk appeared on his lips as he noticed how Downes shrunk under his intense gaze.  
Her hand reached out and grabbed his shirt at the small of his back to stop him again.  
“Don’t. Arthur… just don’t.”  
Arthur was used to people telling him what to do all the time but people telling him not to do something was new and he wasn’t quite sure if he liked it.  
He thought hard about flaring up and tell her that he could do whatever the fuck he pleased but the look in her eyes stilled his efforts, so he kept quiet standing next to her and crossing his arms over his chest.  
Sophie gave him the smallest of smiles and turned her attention back to Downes, the woman and the boy rushing forward to help the sick man back on his feet.  
Arthur noticed the way his eyes were swollen and red, bloodshot and dull, his skin was pale as a chalkstone and sweaty, body not able to fill out his clothes properly. The man looked like death himself and a shudder ran down Arthur’s spine.  
He knew that Tuberculosis was a bad thing, heard it a few times here and there but he had never seen someone with symptoms before and he was glad.  
It wasn’t something nice to look at, that’s for sure.  
“Mrs. Downes, I know that it’s not easy for all of you right now but your husband decided to take that loan from our partner, Herr Strauss, so be aware that we want our money back sooner or later. In terms of our good will, I would rather advice you to pay it back sooner than later.”, Sophie stated in an impressive business-tone towards the family and the woman in question simply nodded. The boy stared daggers into both of them and Arthur stared him down in return.  
“Ya got’a problem, boy?”, he threatened.  
“I got a problem with the likes of you!”, the young man spat back and Arthur chuckled.  
“The likes of us? What ya mean by that?”  
He gave no real answer just snorted loudly and averted his eyes on his father again. Arthur wanted really badly to teach that damn boy a lesson about respect but Sophie simply grabbed his forearm and dragged him along towards the horses, nodding at the poor family and saying over her shoulder: “We’ll be back soon, Mr. and Mrs. Downes. Just keep that in mind. Ah, and Mr. Downes? All the best for, well...”  
The sentence was met with silence and they mounted up quickly, leaving that uneasy feeling behind.  
“What the hell was that?”, Arthur asked as they reached the main-road towards Valentine again.  
Sophie shrugged, grey eyes drinking in the landscape.  
“What would you have done if I hadn’t been with you?”, she asked back and Arthur frowned.  
“I would’ve beaten the shit out of that sick old man, why?”  
“See, that’s the problem.”, she simply said and Arthur thought hard about that statement, not sure what she implied with that.  
“Wait, aren’t we already halfway down towards Strawberry?”, her rich voice interrupted his thoughts and he nodded.  
“Yeah.”  
The buckskin mare turned underneath her and she rode back the way they came, Arthur hesitated but followed after her.  
“Wha-…?”  
“Did you burst Micah out already?”, she asked.  
“No.”  
“Good. Let’s go then.”, Sophie stated in a happy tone, riding down the dirty path past the Downes’ Ranch.  
Arthur was taken aback, shocked and maybe a bit angry with her. The way she held herself made him uneasy, he wasn’t used to the feeling of losing control and her determining tone reminded him heavily of Dutch.  
The woman had an amazing self-esteem and he got the impression, that she wouldn’t take no bullshit from everyone.  
That was good and bad at the same time and Arthur was sure, that he never met someone like this before, at least no woman.  
Gone was the anxious, shy and unsure woman he met for the first time a few weeks ago, now she was tough, demanding and maybe a bit annoying but in a good way, mostly at least.  
Arthur chuckled lightly while riding next to her, watching her carefully out of the corner of his eyes.  
Her eyes were roaming around the landscape, flickering from left to right, a little smile pulling at the corner of her lips.  
“What?”, she asked him as she caught him staring and Arthur jumped a bit.  
“Nothing. Ya never been here before?”, he shot back and Sophie shrugged.  
“Kind of. Mother nature sure is beautiful around here.”, she answered, a dreaming expression on her face.  
“Yeah.”  
They crossed the Dakota River soon afterwards, the clear blue water splashing around their horse’s ankles and they stopped for a short moment, letting the horses eagerly drink the cool liquid in long gulps.  
Arthur adjusted his old hat on his head, shielding his eyes from the burning sun, gaze scanning the area for any possible enemies but so far it seemed clear.  
As they reached Strawberry, a small town sitting underneath the Big Valley in West Elizabeth, Sophie stopped near the big welcome-sign and turned towards him.  
“So, we don’t wanna shot half the town dead…”, she began and Arthur huffed.  
“Oh, I would’ve loved to do jus’ that.”, he said dryly and Sophie stopped, gawking at him.  
He waved her off. “Jus’ a joke, miss.”  
She snorted. “Very funny. I’m trying to save your ass here, Arthur Morgan.”  
“Got it. What’s your plan then?”, he asked back, weight shifting to the front so that his forearms rested on the saddle horn, holding the reins in one hand.  
Again, her eyes followed his movement and she gulped hard, cheeks reddening visibly.  
What was her problem?  
He looked down at himself, brows drawn together in confusion. He just saw his own arms and his big hands, the sleeves of his blue rolled up to his elbows, nothing special.  
“What?”  
Quickly, she shook herself back into reality, averting her eyes from his arms and blushing even harder.  
“We need to get his guns back and then we try to get him out, without shooting anyone or anything.”  
Arthur frowned. “How we gonna do that?”  
Sophie turned around, facing the town again, nudging her mare into a walk, she motioned for him to follow and he did, still confused.  
“If this whole thing goes south, ya owe me.”, he mumbled quietly and Sophie huffed.  
“It won’t. Just follow my lead and it’ll be fine. At first, I need a gun belt.”  
“What for?”  
“Gonna look the part.”  
Arthur didn’t question it, simply staying at her side as she purchased an old worn out gun belt at the general store, struggling with putting it on correctly, so he sighed and helped her out, ignoring how close she was standing to him, how close his hands where fumbling with the soft leather in front of her crotch.  
After he was satisfied with the right fitting, making sure the belt wasn’t slipping or something else, he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, gaze trailing up and down her body.  
Damn, she looked good.  
Sophie’s grey eyes were searching his, an unspoken question in it.  
“What is it?”, he asked her, no clue what exactly she wanted from him.  
“I need a gun.”, she simply stated and Arthur shrugged.  
“Buy one.”  
She pouted at him. “You have two, Arthur. Just lend me one of them for now, please.”  
Pointing at his beloved gun belt, his gaze followed her hand down and he sighed again, defeated. Pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers Arthur handed her his second Cattleman, as she reached for it, he held it tight and looked her dead in the eye before letting go.  
“No funny business.”, he rumbled and Sophie nodded seriously, putting the gun in her new holster, completing the look of what? An outlaw? Huh, maybe.  
“I try to.”  
Afterwards, they crossed the bridge to the left, stopping in front of the first house after it and Sophie dismounted, Arthur following suit behind her.  
She knocked on the wooden door, Arthur standing just a few feet behind her, hand at his side near his left weapon, ready to draw in a second.  
“Ya sure ‘bout this?”, he whispered under his breath, waiting for the door to open.  
“Pretty much.”, she breathed back, prompting the outlaw to curse under his breath.  
“Jesus, woman. Th-…”  
The door opened in one swift motion and an older woman stood in front of them, a questioning and wary look in her eyes.  
“Yes?”, she asked in a high voice.  
Sophie coughed and spoke up: “Evening Ma’am. My name is Anna Miller and this here is my associate Brian O’Conner. We were sent up here from the police department in Blackwater to catch a notorious outlaw. His name is Micah Bell.”  
The woman at the door flinched visibly, her dark eyes darting between the two of them.  
“And what do you want from us?”, she asked in a blunt tone.  
Sophie smiled sweetly at her, raising her hands in a soothing way.  
“We got a tip that the guns belonging to him are here, in your house. You see, we don’t want no trouble, we just want justice and we want to see that bastard swing and that fast.”  
Arthur watched with concern the different emotions showing on the woman’s face until she finally relented, turned around and disappeared in the dark house.  
Sophie looked over her shoulder in his direction and gave a thumbs up making him huff under his breath.  
The woman handed them Micah’s two revolvers, her eyes darting around the empty street.  
“My husband won’t be pleased about that but I don’t want nothin’ to do with that sick bastard. If you will excuse me now.”, she simply stated, closing the door quickly.  
They stepped down the porch and Arthur tucked the guns in his saddle bags.  
“Well, that was easier than I expected.”  
“Brian O’Conner? Really?”, he asked Sophie, while they led the horses up the street towards the Jailhouse.  
She chuckled lightly next to him. “Better remember that name for the next one, Mr. O’Conner.”  
As they hitched their horses in front of the Hotel, Sophie faced him again left arm stretched out in his direction.  
“I need your journal, please.”, she exclaimed and Arthur hesitated.  
“Huh?”  
“Don’t ‘huh’ me, I need it.”  
Her hand made a grabbing-motion and he just stared her down, dumb folded.  
“E-eh, no.”  
Sophie rolled her eyes at him. “I just need a blank page, Mr. O’Conner.”  
“I don’t like ya tone, Miss Kendall.”, he grumbled, reaching into his satchel to grab the worn-out leather book.  
“It’s Miss Miller for you.”, she shot back, one eyebrow cocked.  
Arthur relented then, cursing under his breath while opening his journal on a blank page and ripping one out, handing it to her.  
She snatched it out of his grasp, took the pencil from him und motioned for him to turn around.  
“Why?”, he mumbled, confused and a bit pissed with her attitude.  
“Just do it and stop doubting me.”, she hissed back and he obliged, not without cussing of course, facing the wooden Jailhouse in the distance.  
Arthur froze as she draped the paper on his back, scribbling down in record time. Her warm hands made his back muscles jump under her touch and he inhaled a shaky breath.  
“You know what the Sheriff in Blackwater is called?”, she asked him and he chuckled.  
“Asshole.”  
Sophie laughed at that. “Yes, but the real name?”  
“Oswald Dunbar.”  
“Really?”  
Arthur shot her an amused look over his shoulder. “Yeah, really. Had a few run’ins with him. Not a nice feller, though.”  
“Can only imagine.”  
After she finished the letter they went to the Jail. Arthur was tensed and stressed, not knowing what her plan was at all. He stopped her at the door.  
“What’s my part in all this?”, he whispered and she patted his upper arm, leaning a bit closer.  
“Just stand behind me and look intimidating as usual. Follow my lead.”, she breathed back and Arthur had a hard time concentrating on her words, his eyes fixated on her lips as she spoke.  
The lawmen looked up in surprise as they entered through the door, watching them with caution. There were just three of them, the Sheriff and two Deputies.  
“Good evening folks. What can I do for you?”, the Sheriff stated in a rough tone, feet crossed on his desk.  
Sophie stopped in front of him and slammed the letter down right next to his feet.  
“We came to take Micah Bell with us.”, she offered, face as cold as stone, she pointed at herself and then at Arthur. “Miller and O’Conner, Blackwater corps.”  
The sheriff was clearly surprised, straightening himself up he reached for the paper and read it quietly.  
His eyes flickered over the letters, stopping here and there until he looked up again.  
“Blackwater?”, he asked in a deep voice. “Aren’t you guys running around in uniforms all the time?”  
Arthur’s muscles tensed; something wasn’t right.  
“Yes, sir. Bell and his bunch of misfits he’s running with made a huge mess down there. There’s a lot of work to do so he hired us, Bounty Hunters, to relieve him from some of his duties. Sheriff Dunbar wants to see him hang by tomorrow.”, Sophie shot back without hesitation.  
“I heard that much.”, the Sheriff griped back, not amused with the situation. “A shame. I wanted to see that son of a bitch swing by myself.”, the older man muttered but relented in the end.  
“Dave, get that bastard up here.”, he ordered in a harsh tone, the Deputy springing into action rapidly and bolting down the wooden stairs.  
Both exhaled the breath they’ve been holding, shoulders relaxing a tiny bit.  
They heard Micah before they even saw him, his cussing and bleating echoing up the staircase until he stood in the middle of the room, hands bound at his wrists and a dumb expression on his face.  
Arthur sensed he wanted to say something stupid as he recognized them and shook his head harshly, stopping the bubbling from Micah before he could spat something out that would definitely get them into a whole lot of trouble.  
“Well, well, Mr. Bell. You gonna come with us.”, Sophie mocked him, stepping closer to the outlaw. “There are nice little gallows waiting for you in Blackwater.”  
Micah shifted his weight in discomfort, his dirty blonde hair was a mess, his blue eyes searching the faces around him, his clothes were drenched in dirt and other things Arthur didn’t really want to think about much further.  
“Mr. O’Conner, please escort Mr. Bell to our horses.”, Sophie demanded as she took a step back, giving Arthur the room to grab Micah by the arm to drag him outside, with a tip on his hat he dismissed the lawmen and left the Jailhouse quickly.  
He heard how Sophie said her goodbyes to the Sheriff and the Deputies, saying something about a tight timespan and how they needed to get to Blackwater as fast as possible, otherwise the Sheriff would be pissed and their heads would roll.  
He couldn’t believe those lawmen took the bait, handing Micah off without second thoughts. The letter Sophie wrote must have been a good and convincing one.  
Arthur hoisted Micah at the back of his mare, the other outlaw grunting in response and his horse giving a slight huff.  
“Good to see ya, Morgan.”, he sneered and Arthur simply snorted.  
“Shut up.”  
He mounted his horse, waiting for Sophie to do the same.  
“Let’s get out of here.”, she said under her breath and rushed down the road in a fast lope.  
Micah huffed and grumbled behind him, complaining about being tied up like a damn criminal, which made Arthur laugh out loud.  
“Ya’re a damn criminal, nothin’ more.”, he spat over his shoulder.  
Near Flatneck Station they finally came to halt, Arthur cutting the ropes on Micah’s wrists so that the blond man was able to slide down the backside of his mare.  
Taking a few wobbling steps, he stopped between them, an ugly smile on his lips.  
“Why, thank ya two. A shame I need to get back there.”, he spat out.  
“What for?”, Arthur asked him dryly, already knowing the answer.  
“My beloved weapons, Morgan. Lost them in a Poker game, need them back.”  
Arthur reached in his saddle bags and tossed the two revolvers in Micah’s direction.  
“Ya should thank Miss Kendall over there, dumbass.”, he mumbled in response and Micah smiled widely.  
“Would ya look at that? The hell ya knew that, girl?”  
Sophie snorted, her eyes cold and refusing.  
“First of all, don’t call me ‘girl’ one more time. Second, some of us a born with a brain, Mr. Bell. Might use it sometimes.”  
Micah’s look of pure shock, anger and disbelief was a sight to see and he was for once speechless which made Arthur snicker to himself.  
“Ya heard the lady.”  
Micah shrugged out of his trance and wore a blank expression afterwards, whistling loudly for his horse, Baylock.  
The wonderful black horse with four white socks and a massive blaze covering most of his face came rushing down the hill, stopping next to his master.  
Micah mounted up slowly, his body aching from his time as a prisoner. He turned towards them once seated and smiled dirty again.  
“See ya in a few days, cowpoke.”  
“Ya not comin’ back to camp?”  
“No, I was a bad guy, Morgan. Need to find somethin’ good to make it up to Dutch. Come find me in a few days or so, I’ll be camping north of that Timber-company.”  
With that, he clicked his tongue and Baylock obliged, speeding down the path to the left.  
“Well, that was smoother than killing the whole town, that’s for sure.”, Sophie conceded, eyes watching the incoming train with awe, like she never saw one before.  
Arthur chuckled. “That wouldn’t have happened.”  
She just shot him a you-know-it-would-look, then averted her eyes again.  
His hand came up to scratch the back of his neck and he coughed slightly.  
“E-ehum… Ya, eh- ya hungry?”, he stuttered, suddenly shy and unsure of himself.  
“Always. I would die for a Big Mac right now.”, she groaned in response and Arthur frowned.  
“What’s that?”  
A sad smile pulled on her lips but she quickly shrugged it off. “Never mind.”  
They sat a brief moment in silence next to each other on their horses, watching the few passengers leave and enter the train until it rolled off again in a cloud of steam and loud noises.  
“Valentine?”, Arthur asked her and she simply nodded.  
“Valentine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not quite sure if anyone is reading this fic at all but I just keep going because it makes so much fun, ha.  
Anyways, I'd love to hear your feedback/criticism; whatever floats your boat!  
Have a nice one. :)


	8. from hundred to zero

The moment we sat foot into Valentine a heavy thunderstorm came rolling down the mountains. Big puddles dotting the muddy road again, rain coming down like a waterfall, lightning flashing over the pitch-black horizon, thunder rolling loudly in the distance.  
It was horrifying and beautiful at the same time.  
Arthur decided to stable the horses as long as we were staying in town, so they didn’t have to stay in the outside and I was glad about it, didn’t want Nugget to stay in the open in that storm.  
We ran the short distance between the stable and the saloon, shaking the heavy waterdrops off after arriving.  
The saloon was already pretty full, people drinking, playing poker and doing other strange things.  
Arthur, always the gentleman, held the saloon door open for me and I stepped around him, nodding in thanks.  
“Well, here we go again.”, I mumbled to myself and Arthur chuckled.  
“Yeah, no funny business today, ‘lright?”, he replied with a smirk, leaning down a bit so I could understand him properly.  
“You telling me?”  
“Yeah, get’it.”, he waved one hand dismissively.  
The man sitting on the piano to the left gave everything he had currently, fingers playing a funny melody fast and hard, some fellers shouting next to him in a weird sing-song, toppling over one another, drinks high in the air.  
“Jesus, they had more than enough.”, I said a bit louder, eliciting another laugh from the big man standing behind me.  
“Sure.”, he drawled back, making it sound like ‘shuar’ with his thick southern accent, then he motioned for me to sit down at the only free table near the barber and I hurried over, slumping down at the wooden chair with a sigh.  
It was loud, stuffy and I felt more than uncomfortable after our last encounter here but at least it was warm and it dried my clothes slowly but surely.  
My eyes roamed around the room, scanning for possible treats but I just found the normal picture of an early night unfold in front of me; drinking, whoring, playing, fighting.  
Automatically, my gaze landed on Arthur’s backside, leaning at the bar to order our food and drinks, his feet crossed behind his ankles, forearms resting on the counter. He still wore the baby-blue shirt, black leather-suspenders holding his dark-brown jeans in position, gun-belt hung low on his hips.  
Lord have mercy, he was by far the best-looking men in this establishment right now, probably ever and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw some of the working girls eyeing him up and down as well.  
A strange feeling spread in my gut, making my blood boil and raised my temper in a dangerous way. Jealousy? No, never.  
Yeah, keep telling that to yourself girl.  
It was dumb, I had no right to feel that way, Arthur was neither my property nor my lover, so enough of that.  
Sulking and worrying my bottom lip, I crossed my arms over my chest and kept an eye on Arthur, watching as he turned around with his hands full of food and our drinks, nearly bumping into one of the working girls, which had made her way over to him quickly.  
Great.  
Arthur mumbled something to her, likely some kind of apology but the blonde woman only smiled widely, all teeth and wide lips, pressing herself closer to his body, one hand on his arm, she leaned forward and whispered something into his ear.  
Even from the distance I could see the dark blush creeping up his cheeks and, in that moment, I was ready to strangle someone for the first time in my life.  
Someone with long blonde locks, a figure to die for, with a quasi-non-existence neckline of her deep-red dress that hugged her body in all the right places and a beautiful face.  
Even if I hated to admit that, she was stunning, really. Probably the most earning whore here and that thought plastered a huge grin on my face.  
The large cowboy made his way over to our table with hurry after that short encounter, placing the food down in front of me and then himself after he sat down with a grunt.  
“You already making new friends?”, I asked him mockingly and he huffed, rolling his eyes additionally.  
“Yeah, damn girl thought I was interested in a child.”, he grumbled low, obviously annoyed.  
“She probably thought you might be a nice snack.”, I stated in a blunt tone and Arthur nearly chocked on a piece of meat, eyes darting upwards to meet mine.  
“That again?”, he drawled back and I chuckled, digging into the food myself.  
“Always.”  
“A-ah, great.”  
It was delicious, steak and potatoes like I had with John the last time here but I didn’t mind at all and my stomach rumbled in response, satisfied with being filled up again after a long day of nothing.  
As I raised my beer to drown something of it, I saw how the blonde girl was still lingering not far away at the staircase, chatting away with the other girls, all eyes on Arthur nearly the whole time.  
Arthur sat with his back to them, not noticing their consuming gazes on his broad shoulders but I did and it made me uneasy, filling my head with dark thoughts again. Like; could I snatch the scissors from the barber to cut those damn locks off? Would I be quick enough? Can I…?  
“Ya did good today.”  
His deep voice startled me out of my trance and I cast my eyes to his again.  
“What?”  
“That whole thin’ today was good, probably better than I could’ve done’it.”  
I shrugged. “Didn’t know it would work that smoothly, but thank you.”  
“No need. I need’ta thank ya instead.”, he objected, stuffing the last bite of his food in his mouth, chewing it down in record time.  
I shoved my remaining meal in his direction and he raised one eyebrow in question.  
“I’m full. Eat up, cowboy.”  
“Ya sure?”  
I nodded and he made quick work of the last pieces, jaw working visibly with his movements and I gulped.  
How could someone eat that much and still look like this? It was incredible and unfair at the same time.  
After he was sated, he leaned back on the chair, fingers fumbling with the beer bottle in his large hands.  
“Can you promise me something?”, I spoke up after some time.  
Arthur looked up, searching my eyes with a wary expression.  
“Depends.”  
I leaned a bit forward, let my forearms rest on the table.  
“Promise me you won’t go near that Downes feller as long he’s still alive.”  
His eyebrows shot up in confusion.  
“Why?”, he drawled.  
“You know how Tuberculosis is transmitted?”, I asked and he denied with a shake of his head.  
“Droplet infection.”, I explained to him.  
“What’s that?”, his voice was deep and husky, sending unwanted sensations down my spine.  
“Disease gems are transmitted over salvia, blood and other body fluids but mostly over salvia. You can catch TB by simply standing next to a sufferer, he coughs in your direction and boom; you may be infected. You don’t know it, until it’s too late. TB can be in your body for years without showing symptoms but when it triggers… well, it sure as shit ain’t nice.”  
Arthur mulled hard over my words, hands spinning the bottle in tight circles, jaw clenching every now and then.  
“So…”, he began after a long moment. “That’s why ya asked me what I would’ve done?”  
I frowned, not immediately knowing what he implied but then it clicked and I nodded.  
“Right.”  
He was quiet again, wheels turning in his head to process the information I gave him.  
“How high ‘s the chance to catch TB while beatin’ someone?”  
I gulped.  
“Very high.”  
He nodded in understanding, shaking his head afterwards.  
“Ya saved my life then, I guess.”  
These beautiful blue-green eyes came up again and I lost myself for a short moment in them, drinking in his handsome sight.  
“Maybe, maybe not.”, I breathed back, unable to control my beating heart and uneven breath.  
“Huh.”  
We sat in silence, not awkward but still a bit tensed, so I got up and grabbed the empty plates and bottles.  
“You want another one?”, I asked him and he nodded.  
“Sure, could use a whiskey too.”  
I smiled a tiny bit and stood up.  
“Okay, be right back.”  
“Sophie.”  
I stopped in my tracks, looking over my shoulder at him.  
“Mhm?”  
Arthur squirmed visibly, searching for the right words, brows furrowed in concentration.  
“A-ah... ‘bout last night… I- I, u-uh. I just wanna…”, he stuttered and I raised my hand holding the beer bottles quickly.  
“Wait a minute, I’m nowhere near drunk enough for that kind of conversation.”, I shot back and blushed hard, so I turned quickly to head for the bar, ordering another round of booze.  
The bar was dotted with men, so I went to the right side of it, standing between two drunken fellers which were already wasted to the bone, swaying dangerously from side to side, half asleep while standing.  
They smelled awful and I needed to sneeze loudly, catching the attention of the bartender who came strolling towards me with a dirty towel in his hands.  
“Bless you, miss. What can I get fer ya?”, he asked in a friendly tone and I smiled.  
“Thank you. Two beer and two whiskey, please.”  
He nodded and worked behind the bar, all the while I leaned on the counter, totally lost in thoughts, shuffling peanuts absently in my mouth.  
Arthur was right, today was a good one, although we should have let Micah to rot in this damn prison. He was a rat; a filthy stinky rat and I need a good plan to convict him in front of everyone, they need to see what he wanted to do to them.  
Just, how…?  
Right now, they would lynch me for blaming someone of their own, even though Micah wasn’t part of the gang that long but neither was I, so keeping a low profile was my major priority.  
I still couldn’t believe that Dutch doubted Arthur in the end and trusts Micah instead.  
How blind can someone be? After twenty years of friendship and loyalty?  
Regardless, that plan needed time and a lot of thinking, maybe a few others involved, too.  
And the kiss, well. That conversation will be interesting.  
The bartender ripped my out of my thoughts and I took the plate he offered me with the booze, thanking him with a smile and walking back to our table.  
My steps faltered as I laid eyes on Arthur again, the blonde woman was sitting sideways in his lap, arms looped around his neck, lips whispering into his ear.  
“Ah, you gotta be shitting me.”, I mumbled to myself, continuing my way towards the table.  
Arthur heard my footsteps coming and looked up, a pleading-look in his eyes, his lips forming ‘help me’ silently.  
His arms were frozen at his sides, hands clenched into fists, eyes burning into mine.  
I smiled mischievously in his direction, opening the first three buttons of my collar, I formed ‘play along’ with my lips and he nodded once with raised eyebrows, confusion and concern written on his face.  
With force I put the plate down on the wooden surface, prompting the glasses to clink loudly against each other, resting my hands on my hips, near my new gun-belt, I stared the woman in Arthur’s lap down.  
She gasped in surprise, turning her head and gawking in my direction, blonde locks falling in her face in a very beautiful way, damn.  
“What is wrong with you, miste- eh, miss?”, she griped in a high voice, her brown eyes trailing up and down my body.  
Mister? Really?!  
“Could ask you the same question, missy.”, I barked back, shifting my weight on one foot.  
The blonde woman raised one hand to her breast above her heart in feigned shock, offended by my harsh words.  
“Excuse me?”  
Some of the surrounding men and women watched the drama unfold with interest, nudging each other to pay close attention and even the poker players paused their round, eyes following the scene. Nothing better than a good old bitchfight, right?  
Inhaling deeply, I pointed with my forefinger at her, weaving it around her form quickly.  
“You’re currently sitting on private property, girl.”, I said sternly, staring her down again. “Better move your ass, otherwise I will do it for you.”  
Arthur stifled a laughter with his hand, eyes sparkling with a mix of amusement and utter bewilderment.  
The woman gasped again, hand over her mouth.  
“How dare you talk with me like that.”, she spat out after retreating her hand and I simply crossed my arms over my chest, the edge of my breasts poking out under the fabric on purpose.  
“You know what they do with trespassers where I’m from?”  
She shook her head, her expression slipping from arrogant to slightly fearful and she finally withdraw her arms from Arthur’s neck but was still sitting in his lap, so I continued my little speech.  
“We shoot them. Simple as fuck.”, I nearly whispered and the woman squealed.  
Arthur’s low rumble of laughter was intoxicating and I smiled with him.  
Unfortunately, the blonde woman did too and a new wave of anger rushed through me, so I raised one eyebrow at her, cocking my head to the left.  
“Well?”  
She was still laughing, too high and all fake until she stopped and patted Arthur’s left hand with a playful smirk, ignoring that he visibly flinched under her touch, letting his hand fall back at his side again quickly.  
“Oh, I’m so sorry, miss. But I don’t see no ring at his hand and neither on yours.”, she said in a light tone, pretending not notice Arthur’s displeasure and I fumed inwardly.  
Damn, she wouldn’t give up that easy. Was probably used to get everything she wanted, especially men, instantly with just fluttering her eyelashes but not today.  
No, not on my watch.  
Time for plan B.  
The piano was still playing in the background but most of the chatter and laughter had subsided, just some low mumbles were heard here and there, folks standing around us and watching.  
I felt a like lion in a zoo.  
“Don’t need no ring to claim what’s mine, girl.”, I said low, dangerously low and Arthur squinted rapidly, mouth hanging open in surprise.  
“Really?”, she shot back, tone amused and challenging.  
I smiled a wicked smile in her direction; challenge accepted.  
“Really.”  
“And how you gonna do that?”, her voice piped up again and I stepped around the table, motioning for her to finally stand up. She relented after a short moment, eyes narrowed in frustration and maybe anger, she crossed her arms over her chest and stood next to the chair Arthur was still sitting on like a child waiting to be scolded.  
“Watch and learn, sweetheart.”, I mocked in a hushed tone as I stepped past her.  
Lifting my left leg, I straddled Arthur’s lap quickly, eliciting a surprised groan out the big outlaw as he reached instantly for my waist, huge hands grabbing the fabric of my shirt and I let mine settle on his shoulders.  
My feet barley touched the ground, his strong thighs flexing and twitching under my weight.  
Our eyes locked for a brief moment, his were glazed and observant at the same time and he nodded faintly, waiting for me to do whatever I had in mind and before he could protest, I reached for his hat, plopping it on my own head, shooting a playful smirk in Blondies direction. She scoffed and rolled her eyes in return.  
Arthur’s lips twitched in amusement, eyes dropping down to my mouth and back up, hands grabbing the red fabric of my shirt a bit harder.  
His body was warm, radiating heat right into mine, smelling wonderful and clouding my senses beyond want and lust.  
I wanted everything.  
Biting my bottom lip in anticipation, I let my hands wander from his broad shoulders to his hair, grabbing at the shorter one near his neck and pulling slightly back and he followed without question, lips slightly parted until I finally leaned all the way down, kissing him tenderly.  
His lips were warm and soft, all I dreamed of the last night was suddenly so close and I moaned quietly against his mouth, Arthur responding by squeezing his hands into my skin harder and kissing me back gently and oh, so soft.  
Whups and hollers erupted around us, some men barking nasty comments, others encouraging us to keep it going, while the working girls just huffed loudly in rejection, especially the one standing next to us.  
Arthur smiled against my lips, nipping softly at my bottom one until I opened up for him and he deepened the kiss immediately, tilting his head slightly to the side.  
He tasted and smelled wonderful, whiskey, peppermint, just like him and I moaned again, grinding down on his lap. His right hand followed my movement, sliding to my thigh, fingers grasping at my soft flesh through the dark jeans to press me further down and groaning into my mouth at the sensation it gave him. He was hard, like full grown-hard and now it was my turn to grin against his lips, delighted that I could arouse him that far in the middle of the fucking saloon.  
His tongue flickered gently against mine and my head began spinning, tumbling until I totally forgot that we were not alone.  
Hands gripping desperately in his soft hair, pulling him closer and he complied instantly, encircling my back in his strong arms, bringing our bodies flush against each other, moaning under his breath while doing so.  
The kiss became hot, like really hot, all tongue and hard breathing, nipping and biting, hearts nearly bumping out of our chests until this annoying high voice piped up again to our right.  
“Alright, I get it. He’s yours.”  
With a smirk, I withdrew just a few inches from Arthur’s lips and he gave a small strangled sound at that while I turned my head and to look at Blondie again. His breath was hot on my cheek, strong hands dancing over my thighs and a warm shudder ran down my spine in response to his touch.  
“You better remember that, missy. Go and tell your little bunny-friends over there too.”, I nearly whispered and just to prove my point, I grabbed the black bandana dangling around Arthur’s neck and pulled him in, lips crashing together once more, instantly continuing their dance around and with each other again.  
Blondie’s loud huff and her departing footsteps made me chuckle against Arthur’s lips and I broke the kiss slowly, not really wanting it to end. He chased after me with a little grunt, trying to catch my lips once more and the small gesture melted my heart in a dangerous way.  
I leaned slightly back, hands resting on his shoulders and his still lingered on my hip making me feel tingly in all the right places.  
Arthur opened his eyes and looked up at me, locking eyes with mine. I couldn’t quite place the expression showing in his stunning blue-green ones but then a lopsided-grin appeared on his still shiny and a bit swollen lips and I exhaled audibly.  
“Jesus, woman. Ya could give’em a run for their money if ya wanted to.”, he rasped out, cheeks all hot and red and I chuckled again.  
“That was the plan.”  
Leaning back to grab the whiskey from the table, Arthur instantly reached upwards to steady my body on his lap to prevent me from falling backwards and I grinned at him.  
“Thank you.”, I said while handing him one of the glasses, he reached for it with his left hand, the other sliding to my hip, stroking softly in tiny circles.  
I made eye contact with him after sitting up again, raising the whiskey to chink our glasses and he complied, drowning the whole glass in one go and I did too, coughing slightly at the burning feeling down my throat.  
“So, ya can’t talk ‘bout it because ya not drunk enough, but doin’ it ain’t a problem?”, he said in a hushed tone and I smirked down at him, licking my lips and letting my fingers play with the suspenders laying over his shoulders.  
“Talking about it ain’t that much fun.”  
His low laughter vibrated through our bodies and I squirmed a bit in his lap, prompting him to grab at my hip harder, a warning to keep still.  
“Don’t. Otherwise we’ll never be able to leave that chair, woman.”, he nearly whispered in my direction and I giggled, still feeling his rock-hard erection between my legs.  
“Fine by me.”  
“For God’s sake…”, he breathed out, head shaking slowly from left to right in amusement.  
“Did I go too far?”, I asked back, suddenly concerned about that whole situation but Arthur quickly denied it.  
“_No_. Jus’ afraid we’ll get arrested for making out in the middle of the damn saloon.”, he breathed, eyes roaming around the people which have finally returned to their originally activities.  
“Well, wouldn’t be the first time, right?”  
“In that case; it would.”  
My look of pure disbelief made him laugh and my eyebrows shot up in question.  
“What?”  
“Never?”  
He shook his head and mumbled: “Never. Normally not the type for that kin’of fun.”  
For whatever reason, the word ‘normally’ made my heart flutter with excitement and a burning feeling settled down deep in my belly.  
“Then it better be worth it.”, I teasingly mocked him and he snickered under his breath, eyes getting a shade darker, narrowing a tiny bit.  
“God, ya’re really somethin’ else.”, he murmured, as I leaned forward again, lips nearly touching.  
“In a good or bad way?”, I whispered against his lips and he smirked in response, hands sliding up my sides.  
“We’ll see ‘bout that.”  
With that, his left hand came up to cradle my cheek and he pulled me in, kissing me with need and pure hunger. His hips jerked a tiny bit forward, pressing his length at the right spot and I gasped at the friction, my body needlingly responding without a second thought.  
“Why, that was quite the show you two pulled there.”  
We both froze instantly, parting and looking up to meet brown eyes that watched us with amusement and confusion at the same time.  
I stood up quickly, trying hard to get myself together again, while Arthur coughed and squirmed on the chair, both of us blushing something fierce.  
“W-what the hell ‘re ya doin’ here?”  
Charles chuckled darkly, his eyes drifting between us back and forth, hands on his hips, he smirked in Arthur’s direction.  
“Dutch is looking for you. Said somethin’ about a job for you and Miss Kendall.”  
I was speechless, ashamed and afraid at once, shuddering slightly and shuffling nervously from left to right.  
“Ah, shit.”, Arthur rumbled low, eyes coming up briefly to meet mine.  
Charles was clearly confused, hands risen at his sides, he spoke up again: “When did this happen?”  
Arthur groaned and pinched the back of his nose with two fingers, then ruffled through his short hair until he realized his hat wasn’t there and I snatched it quickly from mine, handing it back to his original owner.  
He nodded in thanks.  
“How much did ya see?”  
The other outlaw snorted. “Enough. I mean, not like the whole town saw it.”  
Arthur barked out a sound between a laugh and a snort, shaking his head slightly.  
“Yeah, I know.”  
Brown eyes met mine and I crooked a shy smile.  
“Just needed to save him from our dear friend Blondie over there.”, I said bluntly, pointing at the woman in question, which still stared daggers in our direction.  
Charles nodded in understanding. “I’ve heard that. Quite the performance you pulled there, very authentic.”  
“Thanks, I guess.”  
The darker man smiled, then focused back on Arthur.  
“We should get a move on, Dutch ain’t too pleased about your absence in camp.”, he said with concern and Arthur sighed.  
“Sure.”, then he glanced up at his friend.  
“Nobody.”, he simply stated and Charles tilted his head to the side.  
“What you’re talking about? Ain’t seen nothin’.”  
“Good.”  
As we left the saloon, I winked at Blondie with a lopsided grin and her pale skin became a shade darker; oh, sweet sweet victory. 

*

Of course, it was still raining as we stepped outside and I huffed, shivering slightly under my lightweight clothes.  
“Great.”  
Arthur and Charles mumbled something I couldn’t quite catch and we made our way towards the stable quickly. Once there, Arthur handed me his brown leather coat out of his saddlebags without me asking for it and I smiled in thanks, surprised by this little gesture.  
It was warm and enveloped me in his wonderful smell, wood, horses, gun oil.  
Never thought I’d like that but here I was, smiling like a dumbass because of it.  
We rode back to camp in a fast lope, Nugget huffing and snorting underneath me. Thunder was rolling somewhere in the distance and the night was pitch-black, good thing Charles carried a lamp at the front, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing.  
Despite Arthur’s coat, I was drenched to the bone, muscles twitching and flexing to keep the cold outside but it was hopeless. I shivered uncontrollably in the saddle, fighting to keep upright after a few minutes.  
Arthur rode behind me but as he noticed the way I hunched my shoulders he came up at my side.  
“Ya okay?”, he asked and I nodded.  
“Sure, just freezing to death.”  
“No ‘re not. Not that far now.”  
I looked at him and needed to suppress a huge smile. His clothes clung to his body like a second skin, showing the muscles flex under the fabric with every movement of his horse and his hat was dipped low to shield his eyes from the rain.  
Javier stood guard as we rolled in, greeting us with a tap on his hat.  
Camp was already half asleep, most of them snoring softly in their tents, the ones which were still awake sat under the canvas of some tents to hide from the rain.  
Kieran took our horses after we dismounted and Charles just waved a quick goodbye as Arthur led me towards Dutch’s tent.  
Molly was asleep on the cot, facing away from us while Dutch sat in a chair, a book in one hand and a cigar in the other.  
“Dutch.”, Arthur greeted him as we stepped inside.  
The leader looked up, brown eyes flickering between the two of us, his lips showing just a hint of a smile.  
“Ah, my dear boy and Miss Kendall of course. Where have you two been?”, he spoke up in his deep voice, Molly shifting slightly on the cot.  
Arthur coughed in his hand. “Runnin’ around for Strauss and then we went to get Micah out.”  
“How did that go?”  
“Without a problem.”  
Dutch’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment.  
“How so?”  
Arthur smirked, one of his big hands came up to pat my shoulder.  
“Miss Kendall here had a good plan. We pretended to be Bounty Hunters sent from Blackwater to get Micah down there, Sheriff took the bait and we just rode out there without a scratch. She was very convincing.”, he explained and Dutch chuckled darkly.  
“Really?”, his eyes searched mine and I shrugged.  
“Thought it’d be better than shooting half the town dead.”, I simply stated and Dutch smiled but it was a strange one, not quite sure what the intention behind it was.  
“My, my. Would you look at that, a natural.”  
Arthur’s hand slid down my back, resting a short moment at the small of it then he withdrew his hand again and I nearly grumbled with the loss of contact.  
The rain was still hammering on the tent cover and I shivered again, wet clothes sending one shiver after another through my body.  
Dutch watched us carefully, registering every movement.  
“I have a job for two, since you are such a good team and all but it can wait until tomorrow. For now, get yourselves changed into some dry clothes and get into bed. We can talk in the morning.”, he stated and ushered us out of his tent, closing the flaps behind him.  
For a moment, I just stood outside, closing my eyes and letting the waterdrops splash in my face until Arthur grabbed my hand without a word and dragged me to his wagon, stopping underneath the green canvas.  
My eyes roamed around this all so familiar area, the portrait of his mother, the flower on the table, the pictures of Dutch and Hosea, Copper, his father and the picture of Mary, everything was there. His cot was a mess, two blankets disheveled on it, a single pillow sitting at the top. To be honest, it looked very uncomfortable.  
“For this little speech you needed to come back that quickly?”, I asked in hushed voice, watching Arthur as he tried to tidy up his tent a bit.  
He only grunted while folding the blankets, motioning for me to sit down after he arranged them properly.  
I hesitated a short moment but then I shrugged and sat down, handing him his wet coat back and grabbing one of the wool-blankets to cover myself up.  
I watched as he lit a candle on the table, discarded his hat next to it and finally settled on the cot next to me, catching my eyes with his.  
He sighed deeply, hand coming up to ruffle through his hair.  
“What a day.”, he murmured and I nodded.  
“But a good one.”  
A small chuckled escaped him.  
“Sure.”  
The candlelight flickered in the wind and it smelled like rain, flowers and the forest. A little bit like summer rain but not quite the same.  
Camp was for a change very quiet; the only noises were some soft snores here and there and the dripping of raindrops on tarp.  
Without really thinking about it, I took off my boots and got comfy sitting cross-legged, pulling the blanket up to cover my whole body, sighing in pure bliss afterwards.  
“Ya still cold?”, Arthur’s deep voice came from my right and looking at him.  
“Little. You?”  
“Yeah, need to get out of them wet clothes.”, he simply stated and I gawked slightly at him.  
“Don’t have any dry clothes here, only in my tent.”  
He shrugged. “Ya can have one of mine.”, he rumbled, stood up and fetched one of his fresh shirts, a dark-red one and handed it to me.  
I took it and he turned around immediately, facing the dark camp, his back to me.  
After a few moments of silence, he looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised in question.  
“What? Ya wanna catch pneumonia?”  
“No.”, I shot back and he turned away again.  
“Then hurry up.”  
“Why can’t I just go over to my own tent and change there?”, I asked and Arthur grunted.  
“Need a’talk.”  
Ah, great.  
My eyes wandered over the tent, it was open, like open in everyone could just watch me while changing and I huffed loudly. I wasn’t prim, not exactly but this were different times and someone like Micah, well, they wouldn’t take no as an answer.  
“Can you roll the sides down? It’s a little airy in here right now.”, I nearly whispered and Arthur shook his head while beginning to roll the flaps down.  
“Sure, princess.”  
“Cut the bullshit, Morgan.”, I hissed in return but he simply snickered while working.  
After he had secured the flaps, I made quick work of my drenched clothes, shrugging them off under the blanket and slipping into Arthur’s shirt quickly. It was way too big, hem ending mid-thigh but that was a good thing, because I didn’t have any shorts or whatever with me, just my black underwear which I treasured deeply. The things they wore around here, ah; nope.  
No way I’m gonna get into some of these.  
With a loud ‘thudd’ the wet clothes and my gun belt landed on the floor next to the bed and I wrapped myself into the blanket again, hiding my face into it, which smelled just like Arthur, I spoke up: “Your turn. I won’t look.”  
His deep chuckle made my heart flutter.  
“Promise?”  
I nodded through the blanket.  
“Scout’s honor!”  
He turned and shuffled through the tent, my ears were suddenly sharp as hell and I heard every movement.  
The opening of buttons, the extracting of clothes, his gun belt falling to the ground, the opening of a chest, rustling of fabric, a grunt, bones cracking back into place.  
Carefully and very slow, my hands moved down and I gasped silently at the sight.  
Arthur stood in front of his chest at the end of the bed, hands fumbling with the buttons of a new pair of black jeans, the upper-half of a dark-blue union shirt still dangled around his waist, leaving him bare-chested. His skin shimmered bronze in the candlelight, his light brown chest-hair covering most of his upper-body, getting fewer over his abdomen and vanishing as a small trail under the waistband of his jeans.  
His skin was dotted with scars and scratches and I wanted to know every little story to each one of them.  
The muscles of his body flexed with every movement of his hands and I let my eyes roam over every inch. The abdominal muscles showing just the hint of a six-pack hidden underneath the skin, this mouthwatering V, you know what I talk about, pecs very distinct, his arms strong and big, forearms showing his veins, shoulders broad and tensed.  
He wasn’t built like some kind of bodybuilder or stripper; he was even better.  
Strong and toned through the hard life they lived, from all the hard work he did every day, riding, shooting, fighting.  
If I had to describe him in one word, it would be masculine.  
Very, very masculine.  
Lord have mercy, I nearly drooled. Really did.  
My thoughts went wild and before I could stop it, an audible gasp left my lips and the big outlaw looked up immediately.  
These green-blue eyes locked with mine, a spark of amusement and something darker clearly in them and his lips pulled into a mischievous smile but then it faltered until he frowned and he slipped into the sleeves of his union shirt quickly, shielding his body from my eyes and buttoning it up one after another.  
My eyes followed his hands as he worked upwards, stopping and leaving the last two open, so that I could admire just a tiny stripe of skin under the blue fabric.  
With a deep grunt, he settled down next to me on the cot, forearms resting on his knees, eyes locked on his feet.  
“What you wanna talk about?”, I broke the silence first, already knowing in which direction this conversation would lead.  
His big hand came up to run over his face, head turning in my direction afterwards.  
“U-uh. ‘M not very good at this.”  
“Try me.”  
He huffed a small laugh and stretched his back out with his arms in the air, his bones plopped and cracked back into place.  
“Eugh.”, I griped, crinkling my nose slightly in dislike.  
“’M too old fer all that bullshit ‘round me.”, he blurted out, then he hesitated a bit and turned his upper-body to face me, catching my eyes with his.  
“Listen. I dunno what that whole thing is right now.”, he said and I frowned.  
“What thing?”  
His hand waved around between us. “This. All of this. I ain’t a good man and I dunno what ya even want from me.”  
“Arthur…”  
“No, jus’ listen fer a moment. I did a lot of bad things in my life, hurt a lot of people, shot a lot of folks for dumb reasons and got hurt more times than I can count. I deserve it, though, I know it. That’s the price ya pay fer the life we live. Ain’t no sugarcoatin’ that. But the point is, ‘m not ready fer that. I probably never will and if ya honest, neither ‘re ya.”  
I sat in silence, the hell was that?  
“Arthur…”  
“No, don’t _‘Arthur’_ me. I still dunno what ya doin’ here with us, why ya‘re here. Hell, all these damn future tellin’ stuff scares the shit out of me but I see that ya’re right most of the time. Ya don’t belong here, ya need to get home, back to yer family or whatever. ‘M not good enough fer the likes of ya, never will. I can’t give ya the life ya wanna have, trust me. I tried two times, failed and I’ve gone through a lot of bullshit to finally understand that and I’m not ready to do that all over again.”  
My hands grabbed the blanket harder, knuckles white from the effort. He averted his eyes again, looking at the floor and I felt broken, without a real reason.  
Because, why? Yeah, we kissed two times, nothing more. Not like I proposed to him or something like that.  
It never really mattered to him, first time he was drunk and heartbroken because of that Mary fucking Gillis and the second it was just a scam to get that girl off him.  
Even though it felt like a dream, like heaven and hell combined, it wasn’t and now I got the bill for it.  
“I see.”, I simply stated, mind blank and dull.  
Arthur sighed deeply, hand coming up again to scratch the back of his neck.  
“I-It’s not that I don’t like ya, I-I do, really do, but…”, he began but I interrupted him quickly.  
“It’s okay, Arthur. I get it. Just physical attraction, nothing more.”  
“No, that’s not…”  
Without another word, I stood up, grabbed my wet clothes from the floor, handed him his blanket back and wanted to make my way out of his tent in a hurry.  
His hand grabbed my wrist and I was stopped in my tracks, turning my head to look up at him, fighting back against the tears that formed behind my eyelids.  
“What?”, I snapped and he squirmed visibly.  
“S-Sophie… I-I’m sorry. ‘M a fool an’ ya deserve better than an old dumb bastard like me.”  
His eyes were full of emotions, battling under the surface; anger, sadness, disappointment? It was everything and nothing.  
I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say, I was dumbfounded to the bone.  
In a way, he was right, course he was. We all know that he went through hell and back again with his relationships but I wasn’t Mary and neither Eliza.  
On the other hand, he wasn’t real, couldn’t be. Even if it still felt real as fuck, it just couldn’t. This whole thing was probably just a bad dream and I was stuck in the middle of it.  
My brain was messing with me, showing me even in my dreams that no one would have me, not yet a video game character.  
My heart broke all over again, here I was trying to save that man with all his gang and what did it get me? Just two wonderful and hot kisses.  
Well, better than nothing I’d say.  
I nearly laughed over my own naiveté, who was I to think that Arthur Morgan would want something from someone like me?  
That was ridiculous and now I really laughed, startling the outlaw next to me, who still held my wrist in his strong hands, skin warm and rough against mine.  
“It’s okay, Arthur. Let’s just pretend that nothing ever happened, right?”, even in my own ears my voice sounded broken and fake.  
Arthur furrowed his brows, searching my face thoughtfully.  
“That’s not what I wanted to…”  
I snapped back instantly in a harsh voice.  
“Then, what do you want, Arthur Morgan?”  
He let go of my wrist, dragging his hand through his unruly hair, huffing in the process.  
“I-I dunno.”, the reply was nearly a whisper and I snorted in response.  
“Maybe you should think about it. You know where to find me.”, I stated in a blunt tone and with that, I rushed out of his tent into the rain, barreling face first into a warm wall of human-flesh, tossing my already wet clothes all over the muddy grass while trying to regain my balance again.  
“Shit.”  
“Jesus, woman. The hell ya doin’ here?”  
Ah, great.  
“Shut it, Marston.”, I replied annoyed, bending to grab my clothes again.  
John reached for my gun belt, handing it over in my direction quickly.  
“Thanks.”  
“H-hm. Why ‘re lookin’ like that?”, he whispered with his husky voice and I hesitated, until I looked down at myself and blushed instantly.  
My legs were uncovered, goosebumps already erupting on my skin, the hem of Arthur’s shirt just barley covering my naked thighs.  
“Long story.”, I simply replied, struggling with the stuff in my arms.  
A wide grin spread on John’s lips as he studied my naked skin without shame, clearly enjoying the view in front of him.  
“My eyes are up here, Marston.”, I mocked him and his smile grew even bigger.  
“I know.”  
We heard a loud annoyed snort behind us and a moment later Arthur emerged out of his tent, fuming visibly.  
“Ya got nothin’ else to do than harrsin’ women, Marston?”, he shot in the younger outlaw’s direction, staring him down at the same time.  
John chuckled in response. “The way I see it, she came out of your tent half-naked and shaken to the bone, Morgan. Ya maybe wanna retract yar statement.”  
Arthur took a step forward and I quickly positioned myself between them.  
“Ah, nope. Don’t even think about it. John, I’m fine. Nothing ever happened, right Arthur?”, I said ironical and Arthur blinked a few times, his eyes shifting between John and me but kept silent.  
“I’m going to hit the hay now. Night gentlemen.”  
“Goodnight.”, John responded, voice raspy as hell.  
I felt their eyes on my backside as I walked to my little tent, their nagging continuing for a few more minutes until camp fell finally silent.  
Sleep was tricky that night, Arthur’s words and the whole day playing on repeat inside my head, again and again. It made me feel dizzy and exhausted, tired to the point I could sleep a whole week in one go.  
Well, that went from hundred down to zero really quick.


	9. fishing trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% happy with how this chapter turned out, kind of a filler, but yeah.  
Next one will hopefully get better, ha.

Days went by in a blur, I worked, I functioned but nothing beyond that.  
Arthur’s words repeated themselves over and over in my head, taunting me again and again. I was a wreck, without a real reason for it.  
I was torn in two different directions. On one hand I was like; you know what, Arthur Morgan? Go fuck yourself. Don’t need you in my life. But the other, well, let’s just say it wanted him to fuck me.  
_Pathetic. Real pathetic._  
_Get yourself together, Kendall!_  
I tried to show everyone I was okay, no need to run around like a depressed Gollum, regardless that I felt like one, avoiding Arthur as much as I could, not giving my body the chance to act like a teen.  
My back was pressed against the big stone outside camp near the ridge facing the gorge in front of us, Jack sat comfortably on my lap, back against my front, cuddled up and reading a book aloud.  
He was my ray of sunshine, my happy place, I was totally in love with that gorgeous boy and I was pretty sure he liked me too.  
Last day he’d call me ‘Auntie Sophie’ and my smile nearly beat the sun, that’s for sure.  
Said sun was beating down on us, slowly but surely making her way to the west. It was a very warm day, so we just sat in shirts, enjoying the warmth around us.  
I wasn’t quite sure what date it exactly was, my phone said 21st of April but how knows if that’s correct, because it also said year 2019 and well, that’s most certainly not the truth.  
Jack chuckled as I ruffled through his soft hair, face coming up to beam at me and I gave him a huge grin return.  
“What?”  
“Ya know, I never had a teacher besides Hosea.”, he began.  
“And?”  
Jack grinned and whispered: “Don’t tell him that, but I like our lessons more.”  
“Really?”, I asked back amused.  
“Yeah. Much more fun.”  
“Why, thank you, little one.”  
My heart was full of love for that boy, he was such a sweet one.  
He continued his reading afterwards and I leaned back again, drinking in the fresh air and the beautiful view.  
Camp was for a change really quite, it was mid-afternoon and most of the men were out doing some kind of jobs, the women sitting around the washbasin, chatting quietly among each other. Miss Grimshaw was nowhere in sight, she went into town with Pearson in two, so the girls were in high spirits, her laughter floating in our direction every now and then.  
I dozed off after some time, Jack’s high voice lulling me into a dreamless sleep until footsteps woke me up again.  
Abigail stopped in front of us, a smile pulling on her lips as she laid eyes on us.  
“You two having a good time?”, she asked in a light voice and Jack nodded eagerly in response.  
“Sure do, momma.”  
Her dark hair shone nearly black in the sun, her soft features illuminated as well, she sure was a beautiful woman.  
At first, I didn’t really like her. I was to prejudiced from the game, the way she was presented there, annoying, grumbly, always on the edge with John but after I spent a lot of time with her and Jack, I finally saw that they didn’t get her quite right. Sure, she was annoying sometimes, her maternal instinct was very distinct and sometimes a bit too much but she just loved Jack more than anything else in this cruel world and she wanted to protect him, give him the childhood he deserved.  
John wasn’t much help, rather the opposite and so she was left with everything that needed to be done. She was alone with parenting and protecting and she was exhausted, I could tell that much. Deep rings under her eyes, her smile always a little forced and tired. Every day we got a little closer and I tried to help her, watch over Jack when she wanted to sleep a little, have some alone time or just give her some money for clothes and toys.  
She wouldn’t take it in the beginning, wary of my intentions but after she saw how I was with Jack and how he was around me, she relented, rewarding the boy with sweets, toys and new clothes which plastered a huge thankful smile every time on his little face.  
“Everything alright?”, I asked her, sensing her restlessness as I looked up at her.  
“Sure. I just, u-uhm.”  
“Where’s the boy, Abi?”, a deep voice called from the left and I froze.  
Ah, great.  
Arthur stepped into view, handsome as ever in a grey shirt and black jeans, hat on his head and hands on his belt buckle.  
“I’m here Uncle Arthur.”, Jack called cheerful from my lap and I was ready to drown myself.  
“Ah, there ya’re. Ya wanna go fishing?”, he said, stopping just a few feet away, eyes on us.  
“Fishing?”, his small voice piped up with interest.  
“Yeah, fishing. Time for ya to earn ya keep, little one.”, Arthur stated in an amused voice.  
My heart fluttered painfully in my chest as I let my eyes roam over his body, averting them quickly as he caught me doing so.  
“Sure. Now?”  
“Yes, now. Ya got a pole?”  
“Uncle Hosea gave me one.”  
“Go get it, I’ll be waiting here.”  
Jack stood up quickly, waddling in a hurry to his and Abigail’s tent, leaving us three alone in uncomfortable silence.  
With a sigh, I stood up myself and I turned to Abigail, handing her the book back Jack left behind.  
“He did good today. His reading improves every day.”, I simply stated and she beamed with pride as she took the book from my hands.  
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”  
“Don’t mention it.”, I mumbled in return.  
After a shy look at Arthur, I turned to head towards my tent but Abigail’s voice let my steps falter.  
“Wait up. Why don’tchu go with them?”, she asked and Arthur huffed immediately in annoyance.  
“What? No.”, he shot at her but she brushed him off, eyes roaming around the two of us, eyebrows crooked in interest.  
“Ah, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Abigail.”, I said wary.  
“Nonsense. You keep an eye over both of them, please.”, she said, eyes searching mine and then Arthur’s face, her expression hardening slightly as she sensed his disapproval.  
She poked her forefinger at his chest and stared him down.  
“She goes with you. No back talk!”  
The big outlaw gawked at her, then snorted and grunted at the same time but to my surprise he relented, hiding his face under the brim of his hat.  
“Yes, ma’am.”  
“Good.”  
With that, she ushered us on our way and a short ride later, I found myself sitting on a big stone near the Dakota River, watching Arthur and Jack while fishing.  
I convinced him to fish a little bit down the stream to the left, in hope to bypass the Pinkertons but we’ll see if that will work the way I wanted it to.  
The night after our encounter, I promised myself to stay out of the missions, as long as nobody was hurt or killed but with Jack in tow, I tried my best to keep him safe, even though nothing really happened to him in that particular mission.  
Regardless, I just wanted them to fuck the hell off and leave the gang alone.  
Arthur explained patiently everything Jack needed to know about fishing, in a calm a steady voice, which had quite the opposite effect on myself than it had on Jack.  
I felt giddy and restless, my body responding to his dark voice without haste and without my permission.  
The river flowed down nearly silently, the two boys standing near the shore with their poles in the water, chatting without concern. They caught a few fish, Arthur showing Jack how to unhook them and equip the hook with new bait.  
Jack visibly enjoyed Arthur’s company, watching the older man with interest and dignity, I caught him mimicking him once or twice.  
It was a sight to see and it also made me a little sad, because it should be John standing here with him and not Arthur.  
Maybe I should have a little chat with him about his son.  
Also, I felt a little uncomfortable in Arthur’s presence, our last conversation still very prominent in my mind.  
To get this thought out of my head, I stood up and entertained myself with a few flowers which dotted the shore in yellow, white and red, some kind of Daisy and another flower I didn’t know.  
I picked a few Daisys and sat down cross-legged to wove them into a little crown, hands working nearly on their own.  
“What you doin’ there?”, Jack’s voice piped up in front of me and I looked up with a smile.  
“Ah, just a little crown or necklace.”  
Jack watched me as I continued with my task, sitting down beside me after a short moment, erupting a small huff out of the outlaw which was still standing at the shore.  
He grumbled something I couldn’t quite catch but it sounded very much like ‘outbid by a woman and flowers’ which made me smile in response.  
“Can I make one too?”, Jack asked me and I nodded.  
“Sure, go ahead.”  
His little fingers were way faster than mine and his necklace was finished in no time.  
He held it up proudly, spinning it around to show it to Arthur.  
“Look Uncle Arthur, I made a necklace for momma!”  
Arthur’s face softened visibly and he smiled down at the boy. “That’s mighty pretty, I’m sure she’ll love it.”  
Jack giggled. “Sure she will, she’s my momma, she loves everything I make for her.”  
We both chuckled at his undeniable logic and our gazes met for a brief moment, his summer eyes sparkled in the sunlight and he took my breath away without even trying.  
Jack was my savior, he stood up and planted himself in my lap with a loud thud, he looped his arms around my neck and hid his face in the crook of my neck, then he let out a loud sigh and I petted his back gently.  
“What is it, Jack?”, I soothed him and he sighed again.  
“’M jus’ tired, Auntie Sophie.”, he responded weakly and pressed his little body even more against mine.  
“It’s okay. Get some rest, we’ll head back soon.”, I assured him and he nodded his head, shifting until he was comfortable but then he looked up at me, his brown eyes squinting in the sun.  
“Can ya sing for me?”, he asked shyly and I frowned.  
“Now?”  
“Jus’ a bit, please.”  
Damn those puppy eyes.  
“Sure.”  
With a happy giggle, he cuddled up again and waited for me to begin.  
I embraced his back and stroked softly over it, laying my cheek on his head. Rocking our bodies slightly back and forth, I began to sing quietly to lull him into sleep. It worked, though. Just a few moments later he breathed deep and even and I switched into a low humming until I stopped, looking up to catch Arthur staring at us, the fishing pole forgotten on the sandy ground.  
“What?”, I nearly whispered, startling Arthur out his trance.  
He came strolling over to us and sat down beside me, hat hanging low on his head, shielding his eyes from my gaze.  
After he sat down, he bent his legs, forearms resting on his knees and he turned his head to look over to us.  
“Ya good with him.”, he murmured and I simply nodded.  
“Mhm.”  
“He reall’likes ya.”  
We sat there in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the river, birds and the wildlife around us.  
“Ya want children yerself sometime?”, his deep voice asked and I turned my head in surprise.  
He watched me, eyes narrowed a tiny bit, lips in a thin line.  
“Uh-uh. Maybe. You?”  
The question came over my lips before I could think about it and I tensed, Arthur too.  
“No. I don’think so.”, came his reply, low and raspy.  
Crap, I shouldn’t have asked this.  
“A-ah… I’m sorry, Mr. Morgan.”, I tried to apologize but Arthur simply shrugged it off.  
“Oh, it’s Mr. Morgan now, is it?”, he shot back, eyes coming back to me to watch my reaction.  
“You want me to call you Arthur? After our last, well, encounter?”  
He huffed. “Especially after our last encounter. I-I, uhm. I meant what I said back then, but I think ya caught some of the things I said in the wrong way.”  
“The wrong way? How could I take a rejection the wrong way?”, I asked, raising my voice a tiny bit. Jack shifted in my lap, sighing against my neck and I patted his back again, trying to distract myself.  
“Jesus, woman. It wasn’t a rejection, I just-”  
“You know what? Forget it, Arthur.”, I interrupted him, averting my eyes from his, not in the mood to talk about that bullshit now.  
“Forget what?”, he shot back and I frowned, raising my hand in a defeated manner.  
“Everything. Nothing happened, remember?”, my voice dripped with sarcasm and Arthur’s eyebrows shot up at that, hands flexing into fists.  
“Lord help me. Ya’re the stubbornest woman I’ve ever met. Ya never listen. That’s not what I want-”  
“Good evening.”  
Our heads spun around quickly to the voice, watching how Agent Milton and Agent Ross came closer on horseback.  
“Ah, shit.”, I whispered under my breath and my hand shot forward to grab Arthur’s forearm, squeezing it tightly, preventing him from pulling out his gun and doing something stupid.  
His eyes searched mine and I shook my head slightly, whispering: “Trust me.”, in his direction.  
Arthur tilted his head but remained silent, hiding his face under his hat again.  
“Can I help you?”, I asked as the two lawmen stopped just a few feet away, watching us carefully.  
“Maybe you can. I’m Agent Milton and this is Agent Ross, Pinkerton Detective Agency.”, he replied, pointing at himself and then at the thicker man next to him.  
Arthur tensed beside me, his forearm flexing under my touch and I squeezed it quickly.  
“We’re looking for some degenerates, a bunch of outlaws. We heard they were near Valentine, holed up somewhere to plan their next scam. It didn’t happen to you that you laid eyes of one of them, didn’t it?”  
My eyes flickered to Arthur, he sat like a stone beside me, every muscle in his body ready to fight, his right hand on the ground near his revolver, the other landed on my thigh, grabbing hard through the fabric of my jeans.  
“Ah, no, sir. I’m sorry but you see, we’re just a simple farmer-family. We bought a little house near Valentine a few weeks ago, we haven’t seen much of anything to be honest.”, I said in my clearest and friendliest voice. Arthur snorted next to me, squeezing my thigh in a warning.  
“That so? Well, if you see any of them, don’t hesitate to call for the Sheriff, he’ll inform us immediately.”, Milton replied, his eyes fixated on Arthur and a shiver ran down my spine.  
“Sure. What do they look like and what do they call themselves?”  
They turned their horses around, still facing us.  
“Van der Linde Gang. Like outlaws do; filthy and uncivilized. Don’t get near them, they’re dangerous, especially for you and the boy, since your man seems to be quite the protector.”, Milton mocked in an arrogant voice, prompting Arthur to grumble under his breath.  
“Sonof’abitch.”, he rumbled just for me to hear and I nodded quickly in their direction with a forced smile, watching with horror how Ross tilted his head to get a better look at Arthur’s face.  
“Haven’t we met before, mister?”, Ross asked and I froze, turning my head in Arthur’s direction.  
He looked up, facing both of them but he remained sitting on the ground next to Jack and me, big hand still warm on my thigh.  
“No. Don’t think so.”, he replied low.  
Ross still watched him, brows furrowed in concentration.  
“I could swear I’ve seen you somewhere.”  
My eyes darted between the men and then I laughed, patting Arthur’s hand with my own, leaning a bit forward in his direction.  
“Oh, sweetheart. That’s like the fourth or fifth time some said that to you. Always told you that you have a common face, now you need to believe me. Why, even these Lawmen see it.”, I said to him and caught his eyes with mine, seeing how he struggled under my gaze.  
He wanted to shoot them, now and fast.  
I could sense all the hate and anger waving around him like some kind of aura, so I cradled his cheek, stroking his stubble softly with my right thumb, Jack still asleep in my lap and leaned a bit forward.  
Arthur’s eyes shifted from Ross and Milton to me, eyes dropping down to my lips quickly and then back up.  
“Sure.”, he drawled in response, still confused and tensed.  
Milton’s chuckle sounded fake and hollow as he reached out to pat Ross on the shoulder.  
“That’s quite the woman you got there, mister. Some advice; keep her and boy near your home, it isn’t save around here no more.”, he stated in his snaky voice.  
Arthur looked up again and my hand dropped down.  
“Sure.”  
“Well, you three have a good day, Mr. and Mrs.…?”  
“Miller.”, I jumped in quickly, watching how Milton and Ross tipped their hats but the way Ross still watched Arthur made me uneasy and wary of the situation.  
“Mr. and Mrs. Miller then. If you witness something uncommon, just let us know, please.”  
We both nodded and hold our breaths as the two Pinkertons turned theirs horses and followed the road towards Valentine again, releasing the tension as they were finally out of sight.  
As soon as they were gone, Arthur jumped to his feet, pacing around like a caged animal and grumbling under his breath, kicking stones and flowers in the process.  
“Damn Pinkertons. Why’re they here? Do they know where we’re?”  
“I think Ross has his assumption that you’re not Mr. Miller.”, I spoke up, stopping the big outlaw in his tracks.  
He huffed. “Yeah. My ugly mug is’all over Blackwater and also other towns. I need ta speak with Dutch.”  
“Ugly mug, yeah sure.”, I said under my breath but Arthur simply waved me off, eager to get away from this place. He grabbed his and Jack’s fishing poles from the ground and then we headed into camp quickly.  
Jack was still half-asleep in my arms, he just woke as I mounted Nugget but I assured him everything was fine and he dozed off again.  
Arthur stomped off to Dutch’s tent the moment his feet touched the ground, closing the flaps behind him with force and I strolled over to Abigail, who was sitting in her tent, sewing a pair of socks. Carefully, I laid Jack down on his mattress, covering his small body with a wool-blanket and his mother smiled thankfully in return.  
“Fishing must be very exciting.”, she mocked and I huffed a small laugh.  
“It sure was, but Jack overslept the thrilling part.”  
Her smile faltered and she watched me with concern.  
“What happened?”  
“Nothing. Arthur is already speaking with Dutch, don’t worry about it.”  
She didn’t believe me, she was cleverer than everybody thought she was.  
“Oh, here.”, I said, reaching for the necklace Jack made for her. “Jack made this one for you.”  
Abigail took it and tiny smile pulled on her lips.  
“He is such a sweet boy. I’m the luckiest mother alive, that’s for sure.”, she responded with audible love in her voice and I smiled at her, grabbing her hand in mine and giving it a slight squeeze.  
“Always remember that, Abigail.”  
She gave a squeeze in return.  
“You know, I had my worries about you in the beginning but I must admit, that I was wrong. I’m glad you’re here with us, that you’re here with Jack and me. I really appreciate all your help, even if I can’t show it all the time.”  
I nearly cried.  
“Oh, that’s so sweet. Thank you.”, my voice quivered a tiny bit and I tried to compose myself back together.  
She smiled, then her eyes wandered a bit to the left and her smile grew even bigger.  
“And I think Arthur is also glad you’re here.”, she whispered and I paled instantly.  
“What?”  
She chuckled again, patting my hand absently.  
“Oh, don’t gimme that. I see the way he looks at you and the other way around if you think nobody is looking. I’m not that stupid and you two are not that sneaky.”  
I hesitated. “I-I, u-hm. It’s not like that, Abigail.”  
She frowned.  
“Then, how is it?”  
That’s the one million dollar question, wasn’t it?  
“Let’s just say, he isn’t interested.”, I stated low and Abigail barked a short laughter in return.  
“Nah, bullshit. Let me tell you something; I’m in this gang way too long and in the beginning, I came here as a working-girl. I know, I’m not proud of it either but that’s the way it was. All of them took my services, except one. Can you guess which?”  
I bit my bottom lip and averted my gaze down on the ground.  
“Arthur.”  
“Correct. He never came, even though I would’ve loved to lay with him, because let’s be honest, he’s one of the best looking men around here and I’m sure he can live up to our, well, expectations.”  
I chuckled under my breath, a little shocked in which way this conversation went and that she spoke that bluntly.  
“Arthur had never shown any interest in any of the girls, never. So, I think it means something if he looks at you like you’re some kind of steak.”  
“Steak?”  
“Yeah, you know what I mean. Like he’s starving and you’re the only eatable thing left.”, Abigail wiggled her eyebrows at me and I snorted.  
“Good God! Abigail!”, I shot at her, blushing something fierce but she laughed at my reaction.  
“I don’t think he looks at me like that.”, I objected but she simply grinned.  
“Yes he does. I may not be the smartest but I sure as shit can read peoples body language, especially if it has something to do with sex. That was part of my job, sensing if somebody was interested or not.”  
“Jesus, keep it down, will you?”, I hissed, prompting her to stifle her laughter with her right hand.  
“Nobody is listening, girl. Just take my advice; he wants you.”  
I groaned, shaking my head slightly.  
“Nah, but thank you.”  
When I tried to stand up, she reached for my wrist and held it in a firm grip, prompting me to look at her.  
“What?”  
She hesitated a tiny bit. “He’s a good man, Sophie. Under all that gruff and dumb demeanor lays a good soul, he may not know it yet but he deserves some love in his life.”, she said in soft voice, holding my gaze with hers.  
“I-I-uh. Yeah…”, I stuttered in response and she let go of my wrist, smiling one last time and continuing her sewing-work while humming a soothing tune under her breath.  
My head was spinning, thoughts running a mile per minute.  
I made my way over to my tent quickly but Dutch’s deep voice stopped me dead in my tracks in the middle of camp.  
“Miss Kendall. How are we doing this evening?”  
What about some goddamn peace?  
I turned in his direction, facing the leader who stood on the wooden planks of his tent, cigar in one hand and the other on his gun-belt.  
“Mr. Van der Linde. Good, and you?”, I replied politely, holding the gaze of his dark brown eyes.  
“Good, good. I wanted to speak with you, about the job?”, he offered and I nodded my head.  
“Yeah, sure.”  
Dutch motioned for me to come inside and I relented after a brief moment, sitting on a chair he offered me while he sat down on his bed, facing me.  
Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Molly standing near the Lockbox, mirror in her hand and watching us through it with concern. When she noticed my gaze, her green eyes narrowed slightly and she turned around with a loud huff, red hair waving around her like a curtain as she made her way out of sight quickly.  
I frowned at that and Dutch chuckled lowly, shaking his head.  
“Don’t pay her any attention, she’s in a bad mood today.”, he nearly whispered and I looked at him again.  
“Maybe you should try and talk with her.”, I objected but he brushed me off.  
“No time for that, my dear. I got more important things to worry about.”, he refused, clapping his hands once and looking me dead in the eye.  
“So, Trelawny told me about a good lead down in Strawberry, something about a stagecoach, expensive paintings and rich people; all of them waiting for us to rob them.”  
I crooked an eyebrow at his enthusiasms, his voice filled with excitement and thrill.  
“And?”  
Dutch straightened his back out, hands landing on his thighs, then one hand came up to stroke through his black mustache covering his upper-lip.  
“I have a plan.”, he said and I needed to stifle my laughter quickly, covering it up with an awkward cough.  
“I guessed that much.”, I said dryly and he smirked.  
“We need a distraction, trustworthy people, maybe even a little coup to get them paintings. Hosea will be able to sell them afterwards but if we can get them without a fight, that would be brilliant.”  
“What’s the plan then?”, I asked, wary of another world-changing Dutch-van-der-linde-plan.  
The great leader hesitated a tiny bit, brows furrowed in concentration, then his eyes lit up like he had some kind of enlightenment and then he shouted for Arthur, which made me jerk on my seat.  
Oh no.  
Said man came walking over quickly, stopping at the entrance of Dutch’s tent, eyes roaming around the situation in front of him.  
“What is it, Dutch?”, he rasped out and a shudder ran down my spine.  
“I need you two down in Strawberry, meet up with Trelawny and he will give you the final instructions.”, Dutch said, eyes still on me.  
“What instructions? The hell ya talkin’ ‘bout?”  
A dark chuckle escaped the older man and his eyes wandered between the two of us, finger pointing at us.  
“You two pretend to be a rich, educated married couple and you want to buy these damn paintings, get them without a fuss, maybe you can source fake-money with Josiah or something like that.”  
There was a heavy silence afterwards and then we both spoke up at the same time.  
“_No way._”  
“_Ain’t gonna happen, Dutch._”  
Dutch narrowed his eyes and stared at us with disbelief.  
“What’s the problem?”  
Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, feet shuffling on the ground.  
“I-I, uh.”, he stuttered and Dutch snorted.  
“A cat got your tongue, Arthur? You got something to say? Then say it.”  
Arthur sighed deeply.  
“Married, really?”, he rasped, sounding highly defeated.  
“Yes, Arthur, really. Should I send John down there with her, hm? That what you want, son?”  
His face shot up and his lips were drawn in anger.  
“_No._”  
“Well, then get going. Stagecoach will be through the next couple days, better meet up with Josiah as fast as possible.”  
With that, he ushered us out of his tent and we stood a little awkward in front of each other.  
Abigail shot me an amused look, as I turned my head in her direction and I poked my tongue out in return, suppressing the urge to show her my dearest finger all over camp.  
I could hear her chuckle all the way over to us and Arthur did too, his hard gaze landed on her and she gave him a flashing smile back, giggling all the while.  
The big outlaw furrowed his brows, forehead knitted in confusion.  
“The hell ‘s wrong with all these people?”, he asked under his breath, then he shot me one last glance and headed to his tent.  
“Meet ya in ten minutes by the horses.”, he exclaimed over his shoulder, his broad back disappearing under his canvas.


	10. art and coaches

Trelawny waited for us in front of the only Hotel in Strawberry. The tall, lanky man was dressed nicely, a black suit, blue vest, black top hat and white gloves over his hands.  
He looked exactly like the Englishman he was.  
“Ah, there you are. Miss Kendall. Arthur.”, he greeted in his strong accent, reaching out for my hand and giving it a light kiss, his moustache tickling my skin as he did so.  
Arthur grumbled behind me but I just smiled in return, coming to a halt in front of the steps Trelawny stood on.  
“What’s the plan, Josiah?”, Arthur spoke up, annoyance clearly in his voice.  
Trelawny clicked his tongue, averting his eyes, a mix of blue, green and brown, from mine and darting them on the impatient outlaw who shuffled his feet on the ground, hands resting on his gun belt.  
“Always in a rush, aren’t you, Arthur?”  
Arthur grunted a low laugh. “Dutch made such a’hurry ‘bout this job, ain’t my fault.”  
“Right. Let’s get going then. But first, I’m sorry to say that, especially to you my dear, but you two are in need for a bath.”, Trelawny said to us and I chuckled, totally aware of the fact, that I really need to wash, urgently.  
“Yeah, count me in on that.”, I responded happily, the thought of a nice warm bathtub increased my mood instantly.  
“Well, then, let’s head inside.”  
And I was right, it felt like heaven.  
The warm water slacked every tense muscle in my body and I rubbed the dirt off me without haste, inhaling the scent of soap and lavender-oil I had poured into to tub before I got in.  
Hygiene was rare in this times, at least for people like us and I relished in the clean feeling afterwards, my hair was down to dry on his own, I was clean shaven again, feet bare and my body just covered in a white towel, because I forgot to bring clean clothes with me; classic me.  
My bare feet toddled over the wooden floor as I stepped out the bath, turning to the right to get into the room Trelawny booked for us.  
Of course, we needed to get into one room, playing husband and wife required things like that, I guess but that didn’t mean I was glad about it, rather the opposite.  
Arthur sat on the windowsill on the right side of the big bed, his back rested on the glass of the window, one foot was crossed over his knee and his journal lay open in his lap, hand scribbling down on the page.  
“Hey.”, I said quietly as I stepped inside, tossing my dirty clothes on the chair to the left.  
He looked up after a brief moment, eyes nearly pooping out of his head.  
“Jesus woman, the hell ya doin’?”, he rasped, hand holding the pencil coming up to cover his eyes quickly.  
“Ah, don’t make such a fuss, cowboy. Ain’t nothing you haven’t seen before.”, I stated bluntly and turned towards my saddlebags to grab some clean clothes.  
His short laughter was heavy with shock and amusement.  
“Lord have mercy.”, he rumbled low, but his hand landed in his lap again, eyes watching me carefully as I tried to decided what clothes I should wear for now.  
“So, we’re waiting here until tomorrow?”, I asked over my shoulder, not looking in his direction.  
He grunted in response. “Yeah, Josiah will be waitin’ for us outside after sunrise with a stagecoach, all dressed up and nicely clean.”  
“Uh-uh. Can’t wait.”, I responded dryly and Arthur chuckled.  
“Me neither.”  
My eyes wandered to the two black garment bags hanging on the curtain pole in front of me and I huffed. Inside was a, I must admit, a beautiful dark green dress for me and a pitch black suit for Arthur in the other, waiting for us to fill them tomorrow.  
“Great idea.”, I mumbled sarcastically to myself, but Arthur heard me and huffed a small laugh, his boots clattered over the wooden floor as he stood up, spurs clinking with every step.  
He stopped at the door, turning his head to look in my direction.  
“‘M gonna head to the bath now, see ya soon.”, he told me, vanishing through the door quickly.  
Once alone, I slumped down on the massive bed, its red sheets soft on my naked calves and I drank in the sight of the room.  
It was exactly the way I’ve seen it in the game, even though it looked a bit bigger in reality. The heavy curtains blocking out the world outside, the dark wooden furniture dimming the light even more. Two single lamps illuminated the whole scene in a cozy atmosphere, bringing out the prominent red all over the room even further.  
If I had to be honest, it looked a bit like a modern brothel room.  
I chuckled to myself as this realization hit me, dropping the damp towel to the ground to slip into Arthur’s big shirt, I’ve made a habit out of it, because it felt so damn comfy, and my leggings.  
For a change, I felt really good, except the fact, that I was hungry, like very hungry. My stomach twisted in response and I busied myself with tidying up the room, until Arthur opened the door again and stepped inside.  
My hands faltered with the task of folding the towel as I laid eyes on him coming into the room.  
Sweet Baby Jesus.  
I gulped hard, breath hitching deep down in my throat, hands grabbing the towel way too hard and I knew I was gaping, but I just couldn’t help it.  
He was bare-chested, hair still damp and tousled from the bath he took, the jeans he wore, old and worn, sat low on his hips, showing the V and his stunning abdominal muscles flexing with every movement, his strong arms strained from the effort of holding his stuff in his hands, eyes roaming around the room for a spot to get rid of everything.  
I stood there like an idiot, until I pointed at the chair.  
“There.”, I stuttered out and Arthur relented, dropping his stuff with a loud thud.  
“Thank ya.”, he rasped out, hand coming up to ruffle through his hair.  
“Ya hungry?”, he asked after a short moment of silence and I nodded instantly.  
“Always.”  
Not only for food, that’s a fact.  
He shot me a curious look, a small smile on his lips, then he grabbed one of his shirts, a dark blue one and slipped into it.  
“Be right back.”, he told me again and left downstairs.  
I nearly ran towards the large window and I opened it to step outside on the small balcony quickly, breathing in the cold and clear air of West Elizabeth, trying hard to get myself back together.  
Not like I haven’t seen a half-naked man ever before, but well, Arthur was different. He got into my head like nobody else ever did, turning everything around so that it didn’t made sense anymore, or at all. My body was a mess around him, longing for every little touch, every smile, every gesture.  
It was pathetic and I hated it.  
The line between; I don’t need you and I want you, was very thin and I stepped around it, the chance of tripping quite high.  
I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, my feet cold on the wooden floor but I didn’t mind, it felt good.  
The night was pitch black as I opened them up again, Strawberry was very quiet, just some of the townsfolk were roaming around without haste, the stores were already closed and since there was no saloon, there were no drunkards or whores stumbling down the street, clearly a different town than Valentine.  
I stepped forward and let my forearms rest on the railing, eyes coming up to look at the stars, all bright and tons of them high up in the sky and sad smile appeared on my lips.  
My daddy always used to say; doesn’t matter where you are, the stars are always there for you and someday, I will watch over you with them.  
“Oh, daddy…”, I nearly sobbed, suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of being alone and foreign in a world I didn’t quite know and yet understand.  
I didn’t hear the footsteps behind me and jumped at the warm touch of a hand on my shoulder, turning me around to face Arthur’s concerned gaze.  
“Jesus, Arthur. Stop sneaking up on people.”, I hissed under my breath, averting my eyes quickly from his.  
“Uh-uh. I-”, he paused, studied my face, puffy eyes and trembling lip and spoke up again: “Hey, ya okay?”, his voice was deep and his hand gave a tiny squeeze.  
“Jus’ peachy.”, I mumbled, but he wasn’t having it, his hand came up to catch my chin with two fingers, tilting my head upwards so that I had to look at him.  
“What ‘s it?”, he said in a soft voice, brows furrowed as he studied me again.  
Damn, he could be fucking sweet if he wanted to.  
Without much thought, I stepped forward and threw my arms around his midsection, head resting on his chest, hands grabbing at the fabric of his shirt, enjoying the feeling of a warm body against mine.  
Arthur grunted at the tackle, surprised with my action, but after a short moment he indulged and embraced me in his strong arms, bringing our bodies close together.  
One hand trailed softly up and down my spine and every time it sent a shudder down it as well, my body all excited about his closeness.  
He smelled wonderful, freshly washed but still like him, his unique scent sticking on him and making me dizzy without much effort.  
A small sniffle escaped me and Arthur tensed, his hand faltered until it resumed his affections.  
“Hey now... Don’chu cry at me. What ‘s depressin’ ya that much?”, he said lowly over my head and I suppressed the urge to really start crying.  
“I’m jus’ missing my dad… and my friends. It ain’t easy for me around here.”, I confessed, voice breaking at some points.  
Arthur hummed deep in his chest, the vibration elicited a small shudder out of my body and I exhaled audibly.  
“Sorry to bother you with that, I know you don’t really care about it.”  
His hand stopped and he withdrew a bit until he could lock eyes with mine, bodies still close.  
“Nah, that ain’t the truth, Sophie. I do care ‘bout ya, told ya that much.”, he objected, his summer eyes full of worry and something I couldn’t quite place.  
“Yeah, sure.”  
I took a step back, shuddering slightly at the loss of his warmth and I crossed my arms over my chest, standing there feeling like an idiot.  
“Sorry.”  
Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks a little red and then he pointed over to the room.  
“’S okay. I got us food.”, he simply said and I turned around immediately, rushing to the bed and sitting down on it cross-legged, my stomach grumbling at the sight of bread, potatoes and eggs.  
We ate in silence, a little awkward and I would’ve killed for a television or radio to fill the heavy silence between us, but nothing like that in sight for the next few decades.  
As I munched on a boiled egg, Arthur shifted on the bed, facing me with one leg bent under him and the other dangling over the edge of the mattress.  
He looked at me and I raised one eyebrow at him in question.  
“What?”  
“Why exactly ‘re ya wearin’ my shirt?”, he asked out of the blue and I nearly choked on a piece of egg.  
“Ehm. It- well, it’s comfy.”  
“Huh.”  
He grabbed the last bread, watching me while chewing it down and I squirmed nervously on the bedsheet.  
“You want it back?”, I asked him, eyeing his jaw working as he ate.  
“Nah. Ya can keep it. Suits ya better than me.”  
“Why, thank you.”  
He waved a hand in a dismissive way. “Don’t mention it. Ya done?”  
I nodded and he put the nearly empty plate in front of the door on the outside, so the owner could take it back down.  
My eyes followed his backside and I bit my lip while watching as he bent down and came up again, the fabric of his shirt flexing over his broad shoulders.  
That would be an interesting night.  
He caught me staring as he turned around again, left eyebrow raised as he eyed me.  
“Ya always starin’ at men’s asses, miss?”, he asked and I chuckled a tiny bit embarrassed.  
“No, sir. Only the delicious ones.”  
His right hand came up to sweep over his face, shaking his head in the process.  
“Damn... ‘M gonna sleep on the floor.”, he stated in a blunt tone and I frowned.  
“You don’t need to. Plenty of room up here.”  
I patted the spot next to me after I skidded onto my side of the bed, slipping under the covers quickly.  
“Ya sure?”  
“Pretty.”  
“Huh, ‘kay then.”  
The bed squeaked under his weight as he sat on the edge, taking off his boots and discarding them on the floor, then he slipped under the blanket as well, sighing deeply once he lay comfortable.  
“G’night.”, he said lowly, turning off the lamp on his side of the bed.  
“Night.”  
Well, I lay awake a long time, staring into the darkness of the room.  
To be honest, I was afraid. I had no idea what could or would happen tomorrow, will the mission be successful, will someone get hurt?  
It was a strange feeling not to know what would happen. Apparently, I had already changed some things in the timeline of the game, since this mission was clearly not in it. I was used to the circumstance that I knew everything, so that I felt quite lost right now.  
In addition to that, it was very difficult to sleep when someone like Arthur Morgan lay next to you.  
Very difficult. 

*

“Here.”  
Trelawny passed Arthur a black suitcase, full of bad money, and winked in goodbye, prompting Arthur to grunt.  
“Ya sure that will work?”, he asked incredulously in Josiah’s direction.  
“It will, my dear boy, it will. See you two later!”  
The coach they sat in rolled forward and Arthur sat back against the red seat, his hands grabbing at the leather case he held in his lap harder.  
Arthur felt like an idiot, all dressed up and playing a role he had no clue of felt so fucking wrong. The suit he wore felt wrong, the coach felt wrong, his missing gun-belt felt wrong, his clean shaven face and his missing hat felt wrong.  
This was a disaster.  
His only hope sat next to him, in a green dress, hair in a beautiful braid and for a change painted, even though he liked her more without all that nonsense in her face.  
His eyes had nearly popped out of his head as she had stepped out the door, all fancy and looking like a high society woman.  
Said hope patted his left hand absently right now.  
“It’ll be okay, Arthur. Just follow the plan and it’ll be alright.”, she said in her soft voice, her grey eyes watching him until they drank in the landscape out of the window again.  
Arthur inhaled a deep breath and he tried to order his thoughts back together. The lack of sleep from last night wasn’t helping at all and he cursed silently.  
He was still confused with everything that had happened the last few weeks, the first kiss, the second, well- one could hardly call it a kiss, but in the end it was one, the argument they had later that night and how she had bypassed him the next couple days.  
It was too much for him to progress, the feelings she triggered deep in him, well, he tried hard to suppress them as much as possible.  
He had made a promise to himself all them years ago; no woman, no trouble. And he wanted to keep it that way, regardless whether his body liked it or not and he definitely didn’t like it, not at all.  
Last night had been a nightmare, at least for him. His mind hadn’t find rest at all, his body buzzing with excitement that Sophie lay so close to him, the feeling of her warm, soft body pressed against him during her little breakdown still prominent in his mind.  
Arthur couldn’t even remember the last time someone had hugged him and to his own surprise, he had to admit, that it felt quite good.  
After a few sleepless hours he had drifted off, but the moment Sophie scooted closer and her hand had reached out within her sleep to grab his arm, he lost it again and rose up long before sunrise. He had sat on the balcony for a long time to scribble down in his journal, until dawn finally came and he could wake Sophie up.  
Arthur watched her out of the corner of his eyes, how the light emphasized her soft features, how the wind tangled some loose strands of her hair, how her mouth curved into a small smile as she spotted a deer in the woods.  
He had a problem.  
The big outlaw shook himself back into reality, coughing slightly to gain Sophie’s attention.  
“So, ya ready?”, he asked her and got a grin in return.  
“I was born ready, Mr. Lockwood.”  
“Good, ya got yer gun, Mrs. Lockwood?”  
Sophie nodded, grabbed the fabric of her dress and lifted it up, until he could admire way too much of her well-shaped legs and he blushed, but she didn’t really mind, just patted the revolver tightened on her right thigh.  
“Yes, sir.”  
Arthur gulped at that, the way she pronounced ‘sir’ was too much for his fluttering heart. His mind already showing him in _which_ situations she could repeat that again.  
_Stop it, Morgan._  
“Good.”, he simply stated, voice gruff and hoarse.  
They drove the rest of the way in silence until the driver knocked three times on the ceiling of the cabin, their sign to get ready for action.  
Arthur shot Sophie one last look, he could see that she was nervous but she quickly composed herself, the mask of the wealthy housewife drifting into place.  
She nodded in his direction and he returned it, he just hoped it would all go after plan. The coach came to an abrupt halt and they listened closely.  
“Whoah. You blind, mister?”, their coach driver, a friend of Trelawny, spat at his workmate, who approached them from up front.  
“Easy there, feller. Jus’ get out ta way.”, the other man shot back.  
“Is there a problem, James?”  
Sophie looked out of the window, pretending to be worried about the situation.  
“Not at all, ma’am. Jus’ some dumbass who blocked the road.”, he said loud enough so that the other could hear him.  
“Hey! Ya take that back, mister!”  
Arthur grinned, then stepped out the coach, approaching the two fighting men.  
“What used to be the problem here?”, he asked in his most commanding voice, staring the poor feller down.  
They fought for a little while, Arthur playing the rich, intimidating oilman-part admirable good. James had blocked the other coach on purpose, so it had no other chance than to stop to avoid a crash.  
Four security guards trailed the coach, they were standing behind it now, bored out of their minds, clearly not in the mood to deal with such nonsense.  
After a few minutes of bickering, the coach door opened and a thick man stepped out of it, he looked exactly like Arthur imagined wealthy people to look like; a huge belly covering his front, clean shaven apart a grey well-groomed mustache, cheeks and nose red from too much alcohol in his life, suit sitting perfectly on his fat body, his hair was grey and neatly trimmed, a black hat sitting on his head to appear taller than he really was.  
“Gentlemen, please. Could we just forget all this happened and keep going? I have a tight schedule.”, he spoke up in a deep voice, hands coming up in a calming gesture.  
Arthur stepped around their coach, approaching the man with fast steps.  
“Listen, your driver over there…”  
An audible gasp stopped his words and he craned his neck to look at Sophie, the man beside him did too and they both watched how she stepped out the cabin and came closer in a hurry.  
“E-Edward, you… _Oh my God_. Edward, don’t you recognize him?”, she stuttered perfectly, if he wouldn’t know what was going on, he would totally fall for it.  
“Euh. No, my dear?”  
Sophie came to halt beside him, reaching for his arm to hold onto it, her grey eyes wide with excitement. Arthur tried to ignore the tingly feeling her hand caused in his whole body.  
“This is Richard Murphy, _the_ Richard Murphy. Sweetheart, he owns one of the most successful studios in the whole country.”, she said with awe, the thick man in front of them puffing out his chest at the compliment and smiling widely.  
“Really?”, Arthur asked her, still pretending to be confused.  
“Well, yes. Pleasure to meet you, Mrs.-?”, Richard Murphy spoke up, reaching out to shake Sophie’s hand, she quickly took it.  
“Lockwood. This here is my husband, Edward Lockwood. Please excuse his lack of knowledge, sir, he might be one of the biggest oil-tycoons ever alive but he has no sense for real art, not at all.”, she said in her sweetest voice, lulling Murphy into her instantly.  
He laughed a full belly laugh, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement.  
“Is that so? Lockwood, like Peter Lockwood?”, he asked back and Sophie nodded eagerly. Arthur had no idea who that was, but Sophie apparently did.  
“You know my daddy, sir?”  
Murphy waved a hand at her. “Briefly. Seems like a fine gentleman.”  
“Yes, indeed he is.”  
Arthur smiled down at the woman in his arms, she was a natural, Murphy melted like butter in her hands.  
It was terrifying and impressive at the same time.  
“You want to see some of the painting I have with me?”, he asked her and Arthur suppressed the winning smile forming on his lips.  
“Oh, my. That would be incredible.”, she barley breathed, eyes sparkling at Arthur and then shifting on Murphy again, her hand gave a tiny squeeze on his forearm.  
Murphy motioned for them to follow him, babbling about paintings and art, how valuable they were and that he was on his way down to Saint Denis to sell them.  
Sophie pretended to be glued to his lips, smiling and complimenting as he went. Arthur was slightly impressed about her knowledge of art, he had no clue what they were talking about.  
As they reached the rear of the coach, Murphy told his guards to have a break, take a piss or eat something. They happily obliged, scattering into different directions.  
All the while, James navigated the coach back on the road, stopping next to the other, facing the road down to Valentine.  
Trelawny waited for them down there, he had taken their horses and stuff with him, so they could travel back to camp afterwards.  
It was easy, Sophie schmoozed Murphy until Arthur was sure he would marry her right here and now, and as she trailed her puppy eyes on himself, he simply went and got the fake money, all the obedient husband, paying the unaware man a few thousand dollars and in return they got ten brand new paintings, in all forms and sizes, hopefully worth some real money.  
Sophie and Murphy exchanged addresses, of course a fake one from her and they went separate ways afterwards, rolling down the road towards Valentine.  
James spurred the big draft horses forward, Arthur and Sophie sitting in the back, cautious and tensed if they would come through with their scam. There was still a chance they could notice their trickery, but so far it looked good.  
Near Flatneck Station, the coach pulled into a stop and Arthur exhaled the breath he’d been holding.  
“There you are. How did it go?”, Trelawny greeted them sitting on his horse, a spotted Appaloosa named Gwydion.  
“Jus’ fine.”, Arthur drawled, stepping out the coach and holding his left hand up to help Sophie down. She was clearly surprised but simply smiled and stepped down on the grass.  
James motioned for Josiah to take a look at the goods and they heard his impressed whistle as he surveyed their take.  
“Good job, you two. These are worth a few thousand I’d say.”  
Sophie bounced up and down beside Arthur, a big grin on her face.  
“Nice.”  
Trelawny watched her with interest, one eyebrow raised at her demeanor.  
“Your first real job, my dear?”, he asked her and she nodded.  
“Yeah.”  
“Well, then. My congratulations, this is a really good take. Dutch will be pleased.”  
Arthur huffed. “He better be.”  
“I’m sure about it. So, James and I will take these paintings down to Emerald Ranch, Hosea is waiting there for us. He’ll give you your take once we were able to sell them.”, Josiah stated and Arthur nodded in return.  
“Sure.”  
They climbed up into the front seat, Josiah clicking his tongue so that Gwydion would follow them.  
He turned as they rolled forwards, tipping his hat in farewell.  
“You two did good, thank you kindly. Until next time!”  
Sophie waved her hand next to him, her smile as bright as the sun beating down on them.  
Once alone, they walked over to their horses which were hitched at the back of the train station. Both mares nickered softly as they approached and after a few pets, they stood a moment in silence.  
Arthur thought hard about anything he could say to her, but she interrupted his train of thoughts regardless.  
“We did it.”, she nearly whispered and a small smile pulled on his lips.  
“Yeah.”  
She turned to look at him, her smile was disarming and he could feel his inner wall breaking slowly.  
“We really did it!”, she said louder this time and he a huffed a laugh, leaning his backside at the wooden hitching-post, crossing his arms over his chest.  
“To be honest, ya did the most of it.”, he stated bluntly, averting his eyes from her.  
“Nonsense. We did it together.”, she objected and his gaze landed on her again.  
Sophie took a step forward and his breath got caught in the back of his throat, she was way too close, her eyes full of something he had denied himself for such a long time, but he was tired of fighting against it, tired of being alone and feeling miserable, tired of lying to himself over and over again.  
He wanted her, badly.  
He wanted her more than anything ever before.  
He wanted her more than he had ever wanted Mary or Eliza.  
And he was afraid of it.  
Sophie came into his life like a tornado, unexpected and fearless, turning everything upside down and inside out, pulling the right strings without knowing it and disarming every defense he had.  
Arthur Morgan was falling.  
He was falling hard and fast.  
“S-Sophie, I-“  
She cut him off by grabbing his hand in hers, soft and warm against his rough skin.  
“Thank you, Arthur. That, well- that was fun.”, she said, eyes bright and honest. “If you need someone to play your lovely wife again in the future, you know where to find me.”  
Damn.  
Her eyes dropped down to his lips for one second and that was all the confirmation he needed in that moment.  
Arthur quickly tugged at her hand to pull her into him and cradled her neck with his right hand, she followed instantly, eyes suddenly wide and surprised, but she leaned into his touch, looking up at him and biting her bottom lip in the process.  
That triggered something within him, every time she did that.  
With a low growl deep in his throat, he leaned down and kissed her, unable to control his needs any longer.  
Sophie let out a small sigh against his lips, hands coming up to lay on his chest, sending a shudder down his spine as she did so.  
His heart beat against his ribcage in a fast lope, his left hand trembled slightly as he reached for her waist, pulling their bodies flush against each other.  
A low moan escaped her lips as his tongue darted out to lick over her soft lips and she opened up for him without hesitation, greeting it with pleasure.  
God, he really thought he had a few good kisses before, but Sophie was beyond that, way beyond.  
She made him feel like a teenager again, all steamy and lustful, afraid to burst any minute.  
He had no self-control around her, his body taking the lead without much thought.  
Sophie nipped at his bottom-lip, her teeth nibbling at his soft flesh, prompting him to groan into her mouth, his hand wandered down until it stopped at the small of her back, pressing her even more into him.  
Arthur kissed her with all he got, hot but also gentle and soft. Breathing became hard and after a few long moments, he withdrew just a few inches, both of them panting and breathless. His thumb stroked over her soft cheek and her eyes opened up again, watching him with half-closed lids.  
“God, I want ya, woman.”, was all he was able to rasp out, his voice low and hoarse.  
The small smile she gave him made his heart flutter and as her tongue darted out to lick over her slightly swollen lips, Arthur was close on jumping her right there.  
He sucked in an audible deep breath, a low growl erupting in his chest and Sophie chuckled sweetly in his arms, her hands grabbing the collar of his suit coat to pull him in again.  
He happily obliged, though and she kissed him again, and again.  
Her lips soft and warm against his, she tasted like vanilla and something he couldn’t quite place, but it didn’t really matter to him, she just tasted wonderful and smelled just as well.  
Sophie’s hands threaded themselves into his hair, short nails scraping slightly over his scalp and he shuddered against her, wallowing into every touch she gave him.  
Arthur hadn’t been touched that way for a very long time and he savored every moment with her.  
It was hopeless, he was lost and he knew it.  
He knew it by the way he couldn’t get her out of his mind, for weeks now, no matter how hard he’d tried.  
Arthur deepened the kiss, her tongue dancing around his in a playful manner, hands grabbing his hair a bit harder and she stood on her tip-toes to keep up with his height.  
He just thought about grabbing her thighs and lifting her onto the hitching-post, as an awkward cough piped up from their left.  
They parted quickly and looked up simultaneously right into the eyes of the conductor, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a judgmental look on his face, his head shaking slowly from left to right.  
“Ya two get goin’, now. Otherwise I’ll get the sheriff.”, he blurted out, clearly not amused with the situation.  
Arthur raised his hands in a dismissive way, shooting an apologizing look into Sophie’s direction, but she had a hard time keeping herself together, chuckling under her breath as she mounted her steed, Arthur following quickly with a huge grin on his face.  
“’M sorry.”, he said half-heartedly to the man, not really meaning it.  
“Ya two don’t have a home? Get yerself a room, damnit.”  
With that, they rushed away from Flatneck Station, galloping towards Horseshoe Overlook.  
Sophie’s laughter disappeared into the wind, while Arthur simply smiled widely beside her.  
Arthur Morgan felt good, really good and a tiny spark of hope bloomed in his chest, that maybe, maybe it all will be alright. At least for now.


	11. dock

The wind was warm and just a tiny bit sticky on my skin in the evening, my feet dangled in the slightly colder water of Flat Iron Lake. My eyes roamed around the wide lake, the islands not far away, Braithwaite Manor far down to the left, even if I couldn’t see it, I knew it was there and Blackwater lay far away on the other side of the shore.  
Well, here we were.  
Clemens Point.  
My favorite camp-spot in game.  
And I must admit, it was even better in reality.  
The nearly rotten dock was my new fav spot in camp. Watching the sunsets was one of my new hobbies, sometimes with Jack in my lap but most of the time alone.  
After our successful scam with the coach, things went back to normal rather quickly. Dutch had been very pleased, the paintings were worth some money and I got a good take out of it, so did Arthur and the camp and he’d praised us more than once.  
Arthur had headed straight back towards Strawberry to meet up with Micah and a day later, he went to see John to help with the sheep-job and well, we all know how that went on.  
So we packed everything up in a hurry, Grimshaw whirling through camp like a tornado, and made our long way down towards Lemoyne.  
Sweet backwoods Lemoyne.  
I sighed deeply, inhaling the humid air.  
This place felt a little bit more like home, I was used to the hot summers in Texas, the tornado season and everything else that contains hot weather, even though it wasn’t quite that humid back then. The only thing that really annoyed me, were my clothes.  
No tank tops or shorts in sight and I nearly sweated to death under those jeans and shirts I had to wear. I considered cutting one of them into shorts, but I would probably cause some heart attacks here and there if I’d do it, so I dropped that thought quickly.  
In times were an uncovered ankle could cause a ruckus, naked legs were probably a no-no.  
Hell, even a woman wearing pants was still uncommon.  
At least I could jump into the lake whenever I wanted and that was a huge plus and improved the hygiene in camp significantly.  
A smile pulled on my lips when I heard small footsteps waddling up behind me, before Jack slumped down in my lap, grinning from ear to ear as he elicited a loud huff out of me.  
“Hi there, little one.”, I said to him, ruffling through his hair and tugging him close to my chest.  
He instantly snuggled up, giggling while doing so.  
God, how could someone be that cute? Jack made a habit out of climbing up in my lap wherever I sat, always not far away for a little cuddle session. Once he had warmed up, there was no escape.  
“Auntie Sophie. How ya doin’?”, he said in his high voice and I smiled.  
“Peachy, and you?”  
Jack frowned, looking up.  
“What’s peachy?”  
I chuckled. “Another word for good. I’m fine, Jack.”  
The frown was replaced with a grin.  
“Ah, then I’m also peachy.”  
“That’s mighty fine my little friend.”, I chuckled back, amused by his childish demeanor.  
We sat a little in silence, enjoying the stunning view in front of us, the water splashing around my calves, birds chirping, the low humming of the camp behind us.  
“Can ya swim?”  
Jack tore me out of my thoughts and I looked down on him.  
“Sure thing.”  
He made a little pout with his plush lips.  
“I can’t. Can ya show me someday?”, he asked, brown eyes coming up to look at me.  
“Well, since we’re very close to all that damn water, I’d love to, Jack.”, I stated, frowning at the thought of this little boy running around freely without knowing how to swim.  
“But, we have to ask your mother first.”, I added and he grinned.  
“Okay.”, he paused. “Ya know where Uncle Arthur is?”  
“Uh-uh. I think he went into town with Dutch and Hosea, why?”  
“Ah, he brought me a new book and I wanted him to have this.”  
He held up a black thimble. “Found it at in the old camp, but we had to move so quickly I forgot it.”  
“I’m sure he will love that. Just give it to him when he’s back, right?”  
Jack smiled, putting the thing away in his shirt-pocket.  
“Will do.”  
Heavy footsteps made us turn our heads and Jack visibly shrank in my lap, hiding his face at the crook of my neck.  
“Hey Jack, it’s fine.”, I cooed, patting his back in comfort.  
“What ‘re ya two doin’ here?”, a hoarse and raspy voice called behind us.  
“Uh, I dunno. Robbing a bank?”, I gave back sarcastically.  
“Very funny. Jack, yar mother is lookin’ for ya.”  
Jack stood up quickly, hurrying down the dock while mumbling something under his breath I couldn’t quite catch.  
After he was gone, I looked up. John stood behind me in worn black jeans and a dark-red shirt, a few bottoms open at the collar, his eyes locking with mine.  
“Why are you always that harsh with your son, John? No need to be like that.”  
The bigger outlaw sighed deeply, he paused for a brief moment until he sat down next to me, discarding his boots and rolling up his jeans, following my example to cool down his feet in the lake.  
“Ain’t that simple. ‘M not even sure if he’s my son after all.”, he murmured, eyes roaming over the lake.  
“And?”  
“And what?”  
“I don’t see a problem there, John. He ain’t my son either and I still treat him with respect and the love he deserved. He’s just a goddamn boy.”  
I tried to control the anger in my voice, but I failed and John noticed too. He turned his head to look in my direction, mouth drawn in a thin line.  
“Ya dunno what I’ve been through, so jus’-. Uh, forget it.”, he rasped out, eyes narrowing slightly as he scratched over the healing scars on his cheek. The seams were still in there, black against his tanned skin.  
“I know more than I’d like to, John Marston. Trust me on that one.”, I said in a dry tone, avoiding his questioning gaze.  
“What ya mean by that?”, he shot back, hands rubbing over his thighs.  
“Nothing.”  
His chuckle was very deep and so, so fucking raspy that it made my hairs stand on end. His voice always gets me though.  
“Nah, don’chu gimme that now. Spit it out.”  
I sighed, turning to look at him, studying his features. He wasn’t ugly, not at all. To be honest, he was freaking handsome. The short hair doing his job with accentuating his strong jaw and cheekbones, his eyes were trailed on mine and I sucked in an audible breath.  
He raised one eyebrow instantly.  
“Whut?”  
I leaned forward to get a better look at his eyes, frowning all the way.  
“What the fuck.”, I nearly whispered and John simply stared back.  
“What is it woman? The hell ‘s wrong?”  
I huffed. “Always thought your eyes were dark-brown. But they aren’t.”  
John stared at me with wide eyes, disbelief clear as a day on his face.  
“What?!”  
I chuckled, patting his cheek with my hand.  
“Never mind.”  
He caught my wrist, pulling it to his chest and my upper-body followed without a choice, nearly crashing into his.  
“Tha fuck is wrong with ya?”, he grumbled, staring down on me.  
“Just recognized your eyes are rather a mix of grey and brown than a dark-brown. Nothing wrong, they are pretty.”, I said back.  
He was caught off guard, apparently not used to someone speaking frankly or receiving a compliment from a woman.  
John let go of my wrist quickly, averting his eyes again, a small blush creeping up his cheeks, watching the sun dipping behind the tree line of one of the islands.  
“Nobody ever told me that.”, he said low after a few moments and I felt myself getting soft again, pitying the fact that he never received such a compliment in his life before.  
“Well, there you go. You’re welcome.”  
He snorted, but turned his head to look at me again.  
“Well, thanks I guess.”  
“So, what you want, John?”, I asked him and he shrugged.  
“Nothin’.”  
“Yeah sure. You came this close to the water without wanting something from me? I doubt that one.”, I gave back amused and he shot me a scolding look.  
“’M not afraid of water, Kendall.”, he spat, but eyed it carefully at the same time.  
“Mhm. Whatever you say, Marston.”  
I let my feet sway in the lake, splashing tiny droplets of water up to my knees.  
John’s hands came forward to grab the end of the last plank we sat on, clutching the wood hard enough his knuckles went white.  
“Jus’ wanted to talk to ya.”, he admitted after a short while, then he paused and added: “And wanted to ask for a favor.”  
“What favor?”  
His head turned in my direction.  
“Can ya pull these stitches out?”, he rasped and I hesitated.  
“U-uhm. Sure I can, but isn’t that normally Grimshaw’s or Abigail’s part?”  
He huffed a small laugh. “Grimshaw ‘s cruel and rough in that, it hurts like hell, and Abigail, well- let’s jus’ say it isn’t the best idea to hand her a pair of scissors and let her get close to ma face right now.”  
“Ah, John. What have you done this time?”, I said sadly, already planning on paying Abigail a visit later on.  
“Nothin’, I swear. That woman jus’ drivin’ me crazy, that’s all. Can’t do nothin’ right for her.”, he muttered, eyes trailed on his feet.  
“Maybe you should try harder. Listen what she has to say, what she wants, what she wishes for and then you could for once try to fulfill her needs.”, I stated in a dry tone, which made John look up in surprise.  
“I am tryin’, Kendall. But nothin’ is good enough for her. I’m done with all this bullshit, really.”  
I sighed. “Communication, John. Speak with her, listen, understand. That’s the key to a healthy and happy relationship.”  
Yeah, who was I kidding? Practice what you preach, sister. I should try that myself, ha. Haven’t talked to Arthur since we came back to camp after our last kiss, just some hellos here and there, but he was always gone and if he was at camp, he was dead asleep or eating or running around or whatever.  
Or maybe I was just afraid to speak with him, maybe.  
“I want no relationship. I want no kid, I never asked for any of that.”, John said low and I froze.  
“And? You think I asked for my daddy to die or my mother? No, sir. Life isn’t easy and it never goes according to plan, John. Better get that in your head quickly, otherwise you’ll lose everything you have.”, I spat back, unable to control my anger any longer.  
“You run around and fight all day with the mother of your child, your wife. Said child doesn’t even know you, instead he’s afraid to even talk to you! That’s- uh. That’s so fucking sad, really. You have such a talented, smart and cute boy and all you do is avoid him at any costs. It’s time for you to grow up, John. That’s- ah, fuck it. I’m out.”  
As I tried to stand up, he stopped me, his big hand landing on my thigh to keep me down. He looked at me, eyes sparkling with anger, surprise and something sadder.  
“I-I, uh. Nobody ever spoke with me like that.”, he grumbled and I shrugged, folding my arms over my chest.  
“Maybe it was overdue someone did it.”  
He chuckled dryly.  
“Maybe.”  
Then he reached into his pocket and handed me a pair of tiny scissors, turned his head and motioned for me to get going.  
“Mighty brave to hand them to me now.”, I was still angry and slightly furious.  
John shot me an alerted look, eyes narrowing slightly.  
“Ya wouldn’t be able to kill me with that, trust me.”  
“But I could hurt you.”  
“Uh, probably. Get goin’.”  
“Only if you’re willing to spend some time with your son.”, I objected, eliciting a deep groan out of the outlaw.  
“Fine.”  
“Good, I’ll teach him how to swim if Abigail is fine with that. Maybe you could join us.”  
He huffed. “We’ll see ‘bout that.”  
And then I complied after a short moment of hesitation, rearranging my limbs so I could sit closer to him. His skin was warm and soft under my fingers, as I turned his head a bit further to the side for better access.  
His black stubble standing out against his tanned skin and scratching my fingertips lightly.  
John closed his eyes as I snapped through the first stitch, his jaw clenched slightly and I gulped at the sight of it.  
Damn those handsome men in this gang, really.  
Why were there so many of them?  
He kept perfectly still the whole process, not even a tiny wince or flinch under my touch.  
I held his chin between my fingers, working through every stitch, pulling them out afterwards carefully. Some of them were bleeding a bit, so I asked him for a cloth and some alcohol, which he fetched instantly. Sitting down again beside me, I soaked the white cloth with some whiskey and dabbed off his cheek with it, making him shudder slightly.  
“Does it burn?”  
“Yeah, a little.”  
“You deserve it.”, I said only half-joking and John laughed at that.  
“Don’t I know it.”  
After I finished cleaning his little wounds, I sat back again, studying his face while turning his head slightly to the right with my hand on his left cheek.  
“Alright. Don’t roll around in the mud and keep clear of any dirt or unsafe water, then it be fine in a few days or so.”, I stated, letting go of his face.  
A small smile pulled on his lips and damn, it looked good on him, he smiled way too little.  
“Thank ya.”  
“Mhm. Don’t mention it.”  
The sun dipped slowly behind the trees, the sky a stunning mix of orange, red and yellow. It was beautiful and I sighed deeply, my mind trying to memorize this moment forever. I always had a soft spot for sunsets, that’s a fact.  
“So, uh- I-, damn. I wanted to ask ya somethin’.”  
I turned my head to look at him.  
“I knew it. Well, enlighten me then.”  
John struggled visibly under my gaze, hands fumbling in his lap.  
“Ya- uh. I jus’ wanted to know, if y-ya. Ah, shit. Some of the boys wanted to know, if ya already spoken for.”, he stuttered out, voice breaking every now and then.  
I gawked at him.  
What?  
“Spoken for? You mean like taken?”, I asked dumbfounded and he nodded, averting his eyes on the water again.  
“Uh. Well, no, not exactly.”, I said wary, not quite sure what that thing between Arthur and me was, or if there was a thing at all. “Who wants to know anyhow?”  
John blushed something fierce, trying to hide his face by looking down.  
“Ah, jus’-“, he stopped and I raised one eyebrow, nudging his thigh with mine.  
“John. Keep going. Who wants to know?”  
He sighed. “All of’em. But mostly Sean and Lenny, I’d say.”, he mumbled, eyes coming up to look at me sheepishly.  
I chuckled lightly. “Mhm, sure.”  
“What?”  
“Let me tell you this; if you want to know something from someone, just ask him or her, honestly. Don’t pretend to ask for a friend.”, I mocked him and he snorted in response.  
“I-I, that’s not-“, he paused, mulling hard over his words. “Shit. Ya right, I wanted to know.”  
“See, that wasn’t that hard, was it?”  
“It sure as shit was, Kendall.”, he griped, but smirked at the same time.  
As his words slowly sunk in, I frowned.  
“Why exactly do you want to know?”, I asked him and he shrugged.  
“Jus’ curious. Anybody caught yar eye yet?”  
I turned fully to face him, sitting cross-legged on the wooden planks, eyebrows raised in confusion.  
“John Marston, are you trying to flirt with me?”  
His eyes went wide and he stifled a cough with his hand.  
“Nah, I- jus’-. Ah, shit. Yes.”, the lopsided grin appearing on his lips made my heart flutter, mischievous and full of promises.  
I sucked in an audibly breath, shocked by his statement.  
“John, that’s-“, I was speechless.  
“That’s what?”  
I hesitated, trying to get my thoughts back together.  
“You are married.”, was all I was able to spit out and he snorted loudly in denial.  
“Nah, I ain’t. Abigail and I were never married and our relationship ‘s only platonic fer a long time now.”  
John watched me, eyes trailing up and down my body.  
“That’s yer only problem?”, he rasped in his husky voice, which had quite the effect on me.  
“E-ehm. I dunno. Aren’t you younger than me?”  
How old was he right now? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?  
“Really? Age ‘s jus’ a number, Kendall. Ain’t like I’ve seen more than enough with twenty-six now.”  
Uh, twenty-six.  
“Well, that’s only two years, but-“  
Three deep voices echoing over the lake stopped my sentence short and we both looked to the right, where Dutch, Hosea and Arthur came rowing into sight, singing and laughing all the while.  
Arthur’s arms faltered as he recognized us, his brow furrowed at the sight of John sitting so close to my body, then he averted his eyes, anger clearly on his handsome features.  
Ah, great.  
“Hello there, John, Miss Sophie. What are you two up to?”, Hosea’s rich voice called and John shrugged beside me.  
“Nothin’. Jus’ enjoying the view, old man.”, he gave back.  
Hosea and Dutch both barked a laugh at that, while Arthur remained silent, rowing the boat right next to the dock we sat on.  
I couldn’t resists the urge to bite my bottom-lip while watching how Arthur’s strong arms flexed with every movement under the blue fabric of his shirt, it was a sight to see.  
John offered me a hand as he stood and I accepted it, standing myself and tapping down the dock towards camp.  
My little tent was positioned at the far left side of camp, from my point of view now, on a small hill overlooking the lake. Arthur’s wagon was the closest to the right, but it was far away enough that I could sleep in silence. Not that he made much noise either, most of the time he wasn’t even in camp to make some.  
I took the fish-bag from Hosea and he thanked me with a huge grin, patting my shoulder as I turned to head towards Pearson’s wagon.  
John trailed behind me, following until he stopped when I delivered the fish on the bloody table. Pearson nodded in thanks, immediately beginning to chop them up for the next dinner.  
“What is it now, John?”, I asked him, turning to look at him.  
He chuckled uncertain, scratching the back of his neck with one hand, the gesture reminded me heavily of another outlaw, until he spoke up.  
“So, u-uh. Ya wanna head into town with me? Like, I buy somethin’ to eat and we can talk or whatever ya want.”, he blurted out, cheeks red and a small smile on his lips.  
I raised one eyebrow. “You asking me on a date, Marston?”  
Pearson giggled behind his table, stopping short as John shot a dangerous glance in his direction, muttering a quick apology before he went to grab something behind his wagon.  
“Yeah, I guess.”, John stated as Pearson was gone, eyes coming back to look down on me.  
I hesitated. Sure, he was handsome, he was also kind and sweet if he wanted to be, but he was also John Marston, childish, unreasonable and sometimes even blunt.  
Just a few minutes ago I was ready to strangle him because of Jack and Abigail, but now. Well, he gave his best puppy eyes in that moment and I melted, my heart skipping some beats at the sight of his grey-brown ones looking all pleading and soft.  
He was dangerous.  
“Sure, why not.”, I heard myself say before I could think about it and John smiled widely, clapping his hands once in victory.  
“But-“, I raised one finger. “I need to ask Abigail first. I don’t wanna upset her.”, I objected and he nodded.  
“Yeah, probably a good idea. Better ya get the yellin’ than me.”, he shot back with a mischievous grin and I nudged his shoulder.  
“John Marston!”  
He turned at that, laughing as he made his way towards the big fire in the middle of camp and I my eyes followed his backside, appreciating his form.  
I could work with that, but if I would, that was another question.  
Well, there were two problems right now; Abigail and Arthur.  
At first, I made my way over to her and Jack. They sat in their tent, Jack reading a book aloud while she stroked through his hair lovingly.  
“Abigail.”, I said and she looked up, a smile on her lips.  
“Sophie. You need something?”  
Jack continued his reading, not minding our conversation.  
“Yeah, actually I do. I- uff. Listen, I just had a talk with John and somehow he ended up asking me on a date.”, I said quickly, sensing how Abigail tensed in front of me, her hands stopping in their movements and her eyes went wide.  
“He did?”  
“U-uhm. Yeah. I didn’t want to be rude, so I accepted but just temporary. I told him I need to ask you first, so- here I am.”  
She said nothing for a moment and I let her mull over my words.  
“And I made a deal with him, if you’re allowing me to teach Jack how to swim, he’ll join us, to spend some time with his son.”, I added and she shook herself back out of her mind.  
“Really? Uh, okay then.”, Abigail offered and I hold her gaze.  
“I’m not going to do it if you don’t want it, Abigail. Neither on a date nor teaching Jack how to swim.”  
She shrugged and shook her head.  
“No, it’s fine, really. Go ahead.”  
“Abigail-”  
She cut me off. “It’s fine. But maybe you should have a talk with Arthur about this.”  
I frowned and stood up again.  
“Okay.”  
She sighed deeply.  
“Just be careful, alright?”  
Confused, I turned again.  
“Always am.”  
“Good. No get going, Jack needs to finish this book before bedtime.”, she ushered me out of their tent with a small smile.  
It was already dark outside, the campfires and lamps lulling the camp into a cozy atmosphere. The grass was still warm under my bare feet and I strolled towards the stew pot, grabbed one plate of it and sat down at one of the tables.  
Karen, Tilly and Lenny sat there as well and we began chatting about everything and nothing.  
Karen complained about Sean, Tilly about Grimshaw and Lenny about the townsfolk in Rhodes which were mean and apparently mentally retarded.  
Racial exclusion was still very common around these parts and I could totally understand that Lenny and Charles didn’t felt quite comfortable here.  
The stew tasted like nothing and I nearly gagged after my first bite, making the others chuckle under their breaths.  
“I feel ya, girl. This shit ‘s worse than pig food.”, Karen exclaimed, loud enough to elicit a loud huff out of Pearson, who sat not that far away.  
“Cook yourself then, missy!”, came the rumbling reply and Karen snorted.  
“Would be better than this, that’s for sure!”  
Some of the gang members laughed at the exchange, probably secretly agreeing with Karen.  
As I looked up, I saw most of them gathered around, sitting, eating, drinking, Javier already grabbing his guitar to play something fancy, only someone was missing.  
“You know where Arthur is?”, I asked and three pairs of eyes focused on me instantly.  
“No.”  
“Haven’t seen him all day.”  
“Nope.”  
I shrugged. “Okay.”  
Karen grinned in my direction. “Why?”  
“Uh, just wanted to ask him something, nothing special.”, I replied wary and her smile grew even bigger, turning into a smug one.  
“Sure.”  
Tilly coughed silently, her brown eyes soft as they met mine.  
“Maybe he is in his tent, he often is.”

*

Well, he wasn’t.  
His tent was empty and I huffed, hands on my hip as I stared into the emptiness.  
“Great.”, I muttered to myself.  
“You need something?”  
Dutch startled me and I turned around, facing him standing by his tent.  
“Just looking for Arthur. Have you seen him?”  
He took a long drag on his cigar, mouth twitching as he watched me.  
“Sure. He went down the shore.”, he said in his deep voice, hand holding the cigar pointing down to the right.  
“Thanks.”  
Dutch just tilted his head and I quickly made my way down to the lake, stepping around larger rocks and sticks to avoid a cut or something worse.  
It was pitch black without a lantern, the light of the camp behind me only illuminating a few feet before it turned dark.  
The sand was still warm and rough against my feet and I felt my way forwards carefully.  
I saw nothing while my eyes adjusted slowly to the darker terrain, I just heard the small waves from the lake, the singing of someone who sounded quite like Uncle behind me and some late birds tweeting into the night.  
“Arthur?”, I called softly but got no response.  
A few steps later, I stumbled over something warm and solid, falling face first into the sand.  
“Damnit. The hell ya doin’ here?”  
I turned on my back to look up at Arthur. He sat with his back leant against a big stone in the sand, legs stretched out in front of him, now tangled with mine because I tripped over them.  
“Was looking for you.”, I simply gave back and he snorted.  
“Great, ya found me.”  
I sat up with a groan, stretching my sore muscles in the process. Arthur watched me all the while, eyes shimmering as he did so.  
The moon was nowhere in sight, heavy clouds now dotting the sky, far away in the distance I could hear thunder rolling, which was one of the reasons it was that dark now.  
“What ya want?”, he griped as I tried to find a comfortable position beside him. I ended up sitting cross-legged, hands wiping the sand off from my clothes and face.  
“Talk.”  
“Then talk.”  
“John asked me on a date.”, I deadpanned and Arthur sucked in an audible breath.  
“Really?”  
“Yup. Though I might ask you first.”  
He tilted his head and watched me, an unreadable impression on his face.  
“And why’s that?”  
“You tell me.”, I fired back, not impressed by his dismissive demeanor.  
I knew what he was doing, shutting himself up again, hiding behind the wall he built up around him for years now.  
After our last job, that mask of independence and defense had slipped off his face for a brief moment, showing the caring and loving man underneath.  
Arthur mulled over my words, gears turning in his head as he thought about what to say.  
“Ya wanna go with him?”, he asked after some time and I shrugged.  
“Maybe, maybe not. Depends.”  
“Depends on what?”  
I shifted a bit, scooting closer to his warmth.  
He raised one eyebrow at me, but remained silent.  
“Do you want me to go?”  
His eyes trailed over my face, stopping at my lips and coming up again to my eyes, locking with mine.  
“Ya’re yar own woman, Sophie. I can’t tell ya what ya have to do.”, he said in a low voice, nearly a whisper.  
That statement made me smile and I reached out to grab one of his hands, holding it tightly, he let me.  
“I appreciate that, Arthur. But I’ve asked what you want, not what I want.”  
Arthur turned his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers while doing so, his skin warm and rough against mine.  
“Well, in that case.”, he paused for a brief moment, then tugged at my hand so that I had to get up on my knees, bringing me closer to him, while his free hand came up to cup my cheek.  
My body followed without hesitation, leaning into his touch instantly.  
His eyes flickered down briefly, then he leaned forward to press a soft kiss on my lips and I smiled against his mouth, my body buzzing with excitement.  
“Nah.”, he breathed against my lips and withdrew just a view inches to look me in the eyes. “I don’t wantchya to go with Marston on a date.”  
“Good.”  
His hand traveled from my cheek down to my chin, holding it with two fingers while his thumb trailed over my bottom-lip in lazy motions and I sighed unwittingly.  
“How ‘bout I take ya out instead?”, he drawled and leaned forward at the same time to place a kiss on my cheek.  
“You mean on a date?”, I whispered back, inhaling his unique scent, treasuring it deep in my soul.  
“Sure.”  
His mouth traveled to my neck, planting sweet kisses all the way down there and my eyes closed, desire pumping through my veins as a side effect of his caresses.  
I couldn’t help myself, I was butter in his hands, melting under every touch. It was maybe a little embarrassing, but I didn’t really mind in that moment.  
Arthur’s hand holding my chin wandered to my neck, tilting my head slightly back and to the side, so he could continue kissing the other side of it.  
As his tongue darted out to lick over my tender skin, planting open-mouthed kisses all over my throat, a shudder ran through my body and I gasped at the sensation. One hand instinctively coming up to grab at his short hair, threading through it and pulling slightly, eliciting a low groan out of Arthur. The other grasped at his shirt, trying desperately to pull him closer.  
“That a yes?”, he breathed against my neck, kissing the spot right under my ear and I moaned in response.  
“Mhm.”  
With a low chuckle, he let go of me and stood up quickly, holding his hand down to pull me up. I squinted, my mind working slowly to proceed the fact he grabbed my hand and a moment later I stood on my feet in front of him, swaying slightly to the side.  
“What-?”  
My body was still trembling, fighting the urge to jump him just here and now.  
Arthur stood with a huge grin on his face, hands on his gun-belt, tilting his head to the side.  
“C’mon, princess. Let’s get ya into bed, ya don’t look so good.”, he rasped, his voice loaded with amusement.  
He reached out to grab my right hand, intertwining our fingers again and then he led us back to camp, slowly to avoid tripping or another fall. I followed on autopilot, my mind still trying to get everything in order.  
Wait, did I just made a date with John and Arthur? No way. I need to cancel the one with John, it was stupid that I’d accepted it at all.  
Maybe I can just tell him I’m busy or whatever. Don’t think Arthur would appreciate me running around camp and enlighten everyone about our little, yeah, what? Affair? Relationship?  
I stopped dead in my tracks near my tent, prompting Arthur to stop as well, turning to look at me.  
“What?”  
I hesitated. “What is this?”  
“What is what?”, he stepped closer, eyebrow knitted in confusion.  
My eyes wandered down to our hands, his big one making mine look so small.  
“This. What are we?”  
I was afraid of his answer, but I thought it was time to clarify some things.  
Arthur huffed, his eyes trailing over my face, a small smile pulling on his lips.  
“I dunno, honestly. But I-“, he paused, free hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “-I wanna see where this thin’ goes. I- well, I tried to get ya out’of my mind, fer weeks now. Didn’t work, though. Hell, ‘m fuckin’ afraid ‘bout all this-“, he made a waving gesture between us. “But I-I think I wanna giv’it a chance.”  
My heart raced in my chest, hands trembling something fierce, my mind working hard to process everything he said.  
Did he just-?  
“’M no’ good in these things. I-, damn. I dunno.”, he trailed off, eyes glued to a spot over my shoulder, his voice breaking at some points as he spoke.  
“’M not a good man either, so I get it if-, I-I understand if ya don-“  
I cut him off by leaping forward, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him close to my body. After a short moment of hesitation and a surprised huff, his strong arms encircled me and he let out an audible breath against my neck, a low rumble of laughter erupted in his chest.  
“Jesus, woman. Ya scared the hell out’of me.”, he mumbled in my ear and I withdrew a bit, gazing up in his wonderful eyes.  
“You are such a fool, Arthur Morgan.”, I whispered, smiling as my left hand cupped his face.  
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”  
I pulled him down for a kiss, and he humored me instantly, his lips warm and soft against mine.  
It was one of the sweetest kisses I ever received, full of something I renounced a long time ago and that I thought I’d never had again, yet with someone like him. The nasty voice deep in my mind was still laughing at me, telling me I’ll wake up soon enough and then everything will be gone, that I’d be left with nothing.  
You know what? Fuck off.  
I’ll make the best out of it.


	12. wagon

A few days later, Arthur sat at the campfire, coffee mug in his hands, eyes glued to the flames and he tried hard to ignore that little Irish bastard sitting next to him, babbling without breathing.  
It was still early, sun was already up, ready to start the day and folks were rumbling around, doing chores and other stuff that needed doing.  
“Oi, all ‘m sayin’ ‘s, that she’s a’hell’uva woman an-“, Sean’s voice piped up, his accent thick and heavy and Arthur suppressed the urge to groan loudly.  
It was way too early for a conversation with him.  
“Who ‘s?”  
Sean snickered, his hands fumbling with the mug in his hands.  
“Ya not listenin’, English?”  
“I try not to.”  
“Ha-ha, very funny. Anybody ever told ya, ya’re a borin’ old man?”  
Arthur huffed. “One or two times.”  
“See, told ya.”  
The headache bumping in his forehead grew even bigger while listening to Sean’s nonsense and Arthur sighed deeply.  
“There she’is.”, Sean nearly whispered and Arthur looked up, eyes finding the reason for the redhead’s excitement, making him jump slightly in his seat.  
Of course.  
“Oi, Miss Sophie. Where ‘re ya goin’, beautiful?”  
Let’s just say, that the coffee mug could be grateful it was made of steel, otherwise it would be littering the dirty ground in pieces right now.  
Sophie stopped in her tracks, turning to look at them, a small smile on her lips.  
“Well, good morning to you too, Mr. MacGuire.”, she said, then her eyes landed on Arthur. “Mr. Morgan.”  
Arthur coughed slightly, he could feel the small blush creeping up his cheeks.  
“Miss Kendall.”, he rumbled.  
Sean watched the encounter with interest, his tiny brain trying to understand what exactly was going on between them. He never saw Arthur like that, blushing and rambling. It was new and he wasn’t quite sure what the reason for it was, even though he had his suspicions.  
A woman could turn even the toughest man into a rambling mess.  
With a huge grin, Sean stood, discarding his mug on the ground, he closed the distance between Sophie and him, looping one arm around her shoulders.  
Arthur’s eyes darted between them, anger bubbling up in his body.  
Sophie chuckled and turned her head to look at Sean, one eyebrow raised in question.  
“What do you want?”, she asked and Sean laughed.  
“Notin’, beautiful. Jus’ escortin’ ya wherever ya want.”  
The sly smile appearing on Sean’s lips, made Arthur jump to his feet, dumping the remaining coffee to the ground with force.  
Sophie shrugged Sean’s arm off with a laugh and turned towards the food wagon, calling over her shoulder: “Thank you kindly, Mr. MacGuire, but I can handle myself just fine.”  
“Quite a woman, ain’t she, English?”, the red haired man asked him while his eyes roamed over her backside and Arthur huffed, fighting the urge to slap that little shit square in the face.  
“Sure.”  
He took a few steps closer to the younger outlaw, surprising him slightly.  
“But not fer ya.”, he said under his breath and Sean snickered.  
“Really? Why’s that?”  
Arthur pointed over his shoulder to the women sitting at their tent, washing clothes and chatting among each other.  
“Karen.”, he simply stated and Sean shrunk visibly, cheeks red.  
“Nah, we aint-“  
“Heard ya two through the whole camp, so don’cha gimme that, boy.”  
Sean huffed a laugh, averting his eyes from Arthur’s.  
“Uh- yeah.”  
With that, he turned on his heels and made his way out of sight quickly.  
Arthur paused for a moment, just enjoying the warmth and the sun on his skin, his eyes trailing over the camp, landing on Sophie as she stood beside the chuck wagon, washing dishes with a small smile on her lips.  
Sadie and Pearson worked a few feet away, bickering every now and then.  
“Arthur.”  
He turned his head to the voice, watching Hosea who came over to him slowly.  
“Hosea.”  
The older man sat down at the table where Tilly normally played Dominoes, patting the chair next to him and Arthur obliged, sitting down on the wooden surface.  
“You okay?”, Hosea asked and Arthur frowned.  
“Yeah, an’ you?”  
“Pretty.”  
“Huh.”  
They sat for a moment in silence, watching the people milling around.  
Out of the blue, Hosea chuckled and Arthur looked at him.  
“What?”  
“That was quite the sight, Trelawny sitting in a prison wagon.”, the older man spat out, chuckling all the while.  
Arthur hummed. “Never thought I’d see somethin’ like that.”  
They found Josiah two days ago in the back of the sheriff’s wagon, all tied up and ready to go into prison, until his co-inmates tried to make a run for it and Arthur had to hunt them down, of course. Leaving the talking and lulling to Dutch and Hosea, which worked though. He was supposed to meet up with Dutch later that day in Rhodes, something about the sheriff and work.  
Hosea patted his knee in delight, coughing in his hand while laughing.  
“You remember that time when-“  
His sentence was cut short by a commotion at the chuck wagon, Sadie shouting something and Pearson replying just as angry.  
Arthur was on his feet quickly, running over in a haste, Hosea in tow.  
Sophie stood between Sadie and the cook, her arm looped around the other woman’s waist, holding her close to her body.  
“What in the hell is goin’ here?”, he barked out, stopping the shouting immediately.  
Pearson looked at him with wide eyes.  
“That woman is crazy! Threatened to cook me alive, that is!”  
Sadie snorted, her body trembling against the arms that hold her back, Sophie’s face was red with the effort of holding Sadie close.  
“I got this, Arthur.”, she breathed.  
Arthur cocked one eyebrow. “Really?”  
Hosea chuckled. “Mrs. Adler, what seems to be the problem here?”  
Sadie stopped the fighting, nearly going limp in Sophie’s arms and she flickered her brown eyes on them.  
“I’m jus’ going stir crazy in here, Mr. Matthews. I want to do more than chopping vegetables.”, she stated, her voice low and hoarse. “My husband and I, we shared the work, everything. I can hunt, I can-“  
Sophie let go of her, hands still on her shoulders.  
“How about we go into town, Mrs. Adler? Just you and me?”, she interrupted the blonde woman softly and Arthur snorted.  
“No.”  
Hosea shot him an incredulously look, while Sophie just stared at him.  
“Can’t remember asking you, Mr. Morgan.”, she said dryly, turning towards Sadie and offering her a warm smile.  
“You in?”  
Sadie hesitated a bit, then she returned the smile, the first Arthur ever saw.  
“I’d love to.”  
“Wait-“, Arthur stepped forward, but a hand on his arm stopped him and he looked at Hosea.  
“Don’t, Arthur. Just let them have it their way.”, he nearly whispered and Arthur frowned.  
“Ya know what’s out there, Hosea? It’s too dangerous fer two women travelin’ alone.”, he spat out between clenched teeth, prompting Sophie to bark a laugh.  
“Really? Well, good thing we have this with us.”, she stated, patting the Lancaster Repeater sitting over her shoulder, while she grabbed a letter and the shopping list from Pearson.  
Arthur crossed his arms over his chest, not amused with the whole situation and close to bursting, mumbling under his breath as he watched how the women prepared the wagon and sat on top of it, ready to head out.  
Hosea chuckled beside him, tipping his hat in farewell.  
“See you later, ladies.”  
Sophie looked over her shoulder, a smirk on her lips.  
“We’ll be back in a few hours or so. See ya.”  
The horses pulled the wagon quickly out of sight, Arthur’s eyes locked on the vanishing fabric of Sophie’s grey shirt, until it disappeared into the woods.  
“Quite the woman.”  
If he wouldn’t knew better, Arthur thought he heard a little awe in the older man’s voice.  
“Ya don’t know the half’of it.”, he mumbled, averting his eyes from the woods to his, cocking one eyebrow as he saw the huge grin plastered on Hosea’s face.  
“What?”  
Hosea chuckled, dark and hearty. “Nothin’.”

*

Way too late, Arthur came back to camp, exhausted and tired.  
After Sophie and Sadie left, he ran into Kieran and he convinced him to go fishing together, so they did, Arthur desperate for some kind of distraction, catching a beautiful Bluegill while doing so and having an interesting conversation with some naked feller.  
They talked about Kieran’s time with the O’Driscolls and Arthur felt a little sorry for him, the way he was treated and the way they treated him afterwards wasn’t very nice and if he was honest, he really liked Kieran, for more than one reason. He was good with the horses, he was brave when he needed to be and he knew when to keep his mouth shut.  
He met with Dutch and Bill in Rhodes afterwards, nearly fainting as Dutch presented him his new Deputy-badge, talking about two families and how to play them both against each other.  
Arthur wasn’t convinced, but either way he followed without question and ended up in the middle of the swamp, blowing up some moonshine distillery owned by the Braithwaites. They kept most of the shine, Bill brought it back to camp while Dutch challenged him for a race, which Arthur won of course.  
He always was the best rider among them.  
It was already dark when Dutch patted his shoulder and turned towards his tent, Arthur standing there like an idiot, mind still trying to proceed the day.  
He shook himself back into reality and unsaddled his mare, brushing her down and feeding her a few carrots, letting her roam free with the other horses on the edge of camp.  
With amusement he watched how Sophie’s mare greeted his with a high whine, both horses starting to eat immediately on the same hay bale.  
Arthur shook his head as he watched them, hands on his gun-belt.  
Small steps made him turn his head and he watched little Jack waddling towards him.  
“Hey there, Jack.”, he greeted the boy and got a huge grin in response.  
“Uncle Arthur! I got ya somethin’.”, his small voice piped up and Arthur fell on one knee, so he was at the same level as Jack.  
“What’s that?”  
Jack stopped in front of him, handing him a tiny black object. He had no idea what it was, but he smiled either way.  
“Thank ya, Jack. That’s reall’ nice.”  
Jack giggled. “For the book you gave me, already read it with Miss Sophie. It’s very good.”  
Arthur patted his head affectionately.  
“Ah, ya didn’t have’ta gimme somethin’ in return.”  
Jack pouted. “I know. But I wanted to.”  
Arthur tucked the small thing in his satchel, stood and scooped Jack into his arms, eliciting a loud shriek out of the boy, which turned into a giggle quickly.  
“Jack?”, Abigail’s concerned voice trailed over to them and Arthur followed it towards their tent.  
“Over here, Abby. Ain’t nothin’ wrong.”, he assured her, while tickling Jack and laughing with him.  
Jack’s mother came into view, stopping as she drank in the sight of them, playing and laughing. A sad smile pulled on her lips, watching how someone who wasn’t Jack’s father could handle him that fine, while his real one couldn’t.  
They were a fighting and giggling mess as they stopped in front of the entrance, Jack hanging halfway down in Arthur’s arms, cheeks red and lips drawn into a huge smile.  
“C’mon buddy. Think it’s time fer ya to hit the hay.”, the older outlaw said lowly, turning the boy around in his arms and dropping him by his mother.  
Jack yawned on command, rubbing his eyes in a sleepy manner and flopping down on his bedroll.  
Abigail smiled down on him and tucked him into his blanket, kissing Jack goodnight and then turned towards Arthur again.  
“Thank you.”, she said quietly and the man just nodded.  
“Always. Ya know I love him, right?”  
She smiled. “I know.”  
“Good.”  
They stood in comfortable silence a moment, watching and listening to the camp, how most of them gathered around the main fire, Javier already strumming his guitar.  
Cigarette smoke from his left made him flinch and Abigail watched him with interest.  
“You want one?”, she asked and offered him the box.  
He shook his head. “Nah. Ain’t such a big smoker no more.”, he mumbled and Abigail huffed a laugh.  
“What? You kidding me?”  
No, he wasn’t. If he was honest, he couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d smoked. After his conversations with Sophie and the way she looked at him when he smoked, well, he couldn’t handle it so he stopped. It wasn’t easy, no. There were a few days where he had to fight with all his might against the urge to grab a cigarette, but it got easier and now he barley thought about it. He even recognized a few changes, he felt better, he felt fitter and he wasn’t that quick out of air while running. He felt indeed healthier.  
He shook his head again. “Shit ain’t healthy, Abby. Better quit on that.”  
She raised one eyebrow at him, but continued either way. “Whatever ya say.”  
He chuckled, but stopped instantly as he laid eyes on Sophie, sitting between John and Sadie on one of the logs.  
They laughed over something, Sadie wearing a new pair of pants and a yellow shirt, Sophie wore a new blouse he never saw before, a dark blue, short sleeves and showing off a lot of cleavage.  
Arthur gulped, his hands grabbing the leather of his gun-belt harder.  
“What in the name of God…”, he whispered and Abigail followed his line of sight.  
“Yup. Ain’t they cute? You know about that date?”, she asked him, tone blank but slightly irritated.  
He coughed slightly. “Mhm.”  
“You gonna do something about it?”  
Arthur turned his head to look at her.  
“Why should I?”  
Abigail chuckled dryly.  
“Don’t gimme that, Arthur. I know it.”  
He furrowed his brows, surprised by her statement, but couldn’t hide the blush creeping up his cheeks.  
“Nah, there ain’t nothin’ worth knowin’.”, he murmured, averting his eyes from hers.  
The brown-haired woman next to him giggled and stomped the cigarette butt out with her boot.  
“Sure, I ain’t blind, Arthur. All them little smiles, shy looks and whatnot. I’m not that dumb, you know?”, she said matter of fact, gesturing with one hand in the air to prove her point.  
“No idea what ya talkin’ ‘bout.”, he shot back, preparing to stroll over to his tent.  
She stopped him with one hand on his arm and he turned to look down on her with a sigh.  
“What?”  
“You deserve it, Arthur.”, she simply said softly and caught him off guard with it.  
“Nah-“  
“Yes you do and deep down you know it, too. But you better hurry up, you know how John can be if he wants something.”, her voice dropped a bit and Arthur frowned.  
“Ya mean?”  
“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I mean.”, she shot back and let go of his arm. “I really like her, she’s sweet, kind and good with Jack. It’d be a shame if she ended up like me.”  
Arthur snorted in confusion. “Ya mea-“  
“I mean being knocked up by a man who doesn’t care about it and leave her as soon as he has the possibility to, Arthur. Do I need to get into more detail?”, she hissed and Arthur took a step back, hands risen in surrender.  
“Christ, Abigail. I get it.”  
“Good. Now get lost and get a bath on the way. No offence, but you stink.”  
She shooed him away with a half-hearted laugh and Arthur obliged, strolling over to his tent to grab his soap and a towel, knowing she was right. He stank like the swamp himself.  
He just took a quick bath in the lake, scrubbing down the stench with force.  
Voices and music sounded down towards him and he quickly changed into a new blue shirt and a pair of old jeans.  
As he made his way back to the main camp fire, Uncle tottered in his direction, babbling and singing as he did so.  
Arthur quickly snatched the whiskey bottle from the older man’s hands and took a long gulp, sitting down on the log next to Lenny, in front of Sophie and John.  
Their eyes met for a brief moment and Arthur could feel his heart beat quicken.  
They haven’t really spoken the last few days, after their encounter at the beach. He still wasn’t sure what this thing between them was, but he wanted to find it out.  
Still, the sight of John sitting close to her and making her laugh made his belly flutter with anger and he hated it.  
Arthur drowned the nearly empty bottle in one go and had a few beers afterwards, listening to the singing and joking around him, enjoying the loose atmosphere this evening. His head spun slightly as he stood to head for his tent maybe an hour later, shooting one last glance in Sophie’s direction. She was still talking with John, but she caught his eyes, a little smile on her lips as she watched him go.  
The stars shone bright at the sky, the moon illuminating the camp in shady colors and Arthur made a shortcut down to the shore, standing near the water, hands on his gun belt, watching the beautiful night in front of him.  
Nighttime had always been his favorite time of the day. It was quiet, peaceful and so relaxing.  
He exhaled loudly, his eyes fell closed for a little while and he noted how tired he was. So freaking tired.  
So he turned and made his way back to his wagon, just to be stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Sophie leaning against the back of his wagon next to his map, arms crossed over her chest.  
“Hey there, cowboy.”  
Arthur continued his walking, eyes searching around for anyone, but they were alone back here.  
He stopped a few feet in front of her, hands resting on his belt again, head tilted slightly to the right.  
“Ya need anythin’?”, he asked her and she smiled in return.  
“Yeah, you could say that.”  
“An’ how can I help ya?”  
Sophie’s smile grew even bigger and Arthur arched one eyebrow at her.  
She reached her left hand out, palm up and he simply looked down at it, not knowing what exactly he had to do.  
“What?”  
She sighed and her forefinger made a little wiggle-motion, so he relented and took a step forward, reaching out with his right hand to grab hers. To his surprise, she pulled at his hand instantly and he nearly crashed into her, absorbing the crash with his left arm on the wagon.  
“The hell…”  
He couldn’t continue his sentence any further, because Sophie’s lips where on his before he could say anything more.  
She stood on her tip-toes to keep up with his height, her arms looped around his neck, her body close, but not close enough.  
Arthur fell into the kiss, sensing how she melted under his touch, under his lips. She was so fucking soft, everywhere he touched her.  
Her lips were warm and responding, he took the lead easily, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue and she let him in, welcoming him with gentle caresses.  
God, she really knew what she was doing.  
The last few days his mind was filled with her, with her kisses, with her body, with her smile. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and now? Now she was here, and real and he loved every second of it.  
He let his hands wander over her body, her hips, her waist, her sides up to her face, where he cupped it gently, withdrawing a few inches to look her in the eyes.  
They were hooded and sultry, looking up at him with an expression he was glad and afraid of at the same time.  
His thumb slid over her bottom lip and she bit it in return, which made him growl deep in his throat.  
“Don’t.”, he rasped out and Sophie chuckled lowly.  
“Don’t what?”  
“Ya know exactly what I mean, darlin’.”  
Sophie’s eyes went wide and Arthur froze. Did he say something wrong?  
“Say that again.”, she demanded in a soft voice, lips drawn into a smile.  
“What?”  
“Darling. Say it again. Please.”  
He huffed a laugh, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to his body, wallowing in the little gasp she let out as he pressed her closer.  
Arthur kissed her gently, his lips travelling over her cheek down her neck, peppering her with kisses and licks.  
When he bit down softly under her ear, she moaned quietly and her hands grabbed his hair harder.  
“Ya like that, darlin’?”, he murmured into her skin and she shuddered under his touch.  
“God, Arthur…”  
Well, that was reply enough for him.  
In one swift motion, he grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her up on his hips, pressing her back against the wood of the wagon.  
She instantly crossed her feet behind his back, hands landing on his shoulders while she giggled softly.  
“The hell you doing?”, she whispered and Arthur silenced her with a kiss, hands roaming over her thighs.  
“Enough talkin’”, he murmured on her lips and she relented, instantly deepening the kiss.  
It was hot, like so hot, he thought he might burst any second. He never felt like this before, not even when he was a teen and had no real control over his body.  
Not like he was a saint, but this was like nothing he ever felt before.  
It needed all his will power not to tear apart all their clothes and take her right here and there.  
He wanted it, badly.  
Right on clue, a voice piped up not that far away.  
“Molly, please. Don’t interpret something in it, there is nothing going on between us.”, Dutch’s voice was easy to recognize and they both froze.  
“Don’t give me that, Dutch. I saw it. I’m not blind you know.”  
Arthur let Sophie down, his body screaming as she slid down his front.  
“Ah, you’re delusional, again.”  
They stood in silence, Arthur looking over his shoulder towards Dutch’s tent. He could see how the light was turned on, how Dutch and Molly moved inside, their bickering continuing for a short while, until it finally stopped.  
All the while, Sophie’s hands roamed over his body, his shoulders, his chest, down towards his belly. Arthur shuddered under her touch, head snapping back to her face, as she fumbled with his gun-belt.  
He caught her wrists in his hands, stopping her.  
“What ya think ya doin’ here?”  
She chuckled. “Dunno. Just having some fun, I guess.”  
Arthur sighed, took a step back and released her hands.  
“We can’t. Trust me, I want to. But it’s too damn risky here.”, he stated low, looking over his shoulder towards Dutch’s tent.  
Camp was never a good spot for that kind of fun. Especially when it was a secret.  
Sophie pouted, but nodded after a few seconds of thinking.  
“You’re probably right. I’m sorry.”  
“Nah, no need to be.”  
He thought for a short moment.  
“But, I’ve ‘n idea.”, he murmured, grabbed her hand and lead her around his wagon under the canvas. He made quick work of rolling the flaps down, shielding them from curious eyes.  
Sophie stood in the middle, confused and a tiny bit swamped with the situation.  
“Promise me one thin’.”, Arthur said as he stepped in front of her, holding her face between his hands.  
She raised both eyebrows in return. “What?”  
He leaned down and kissed her gently, then he withdrew and looked her dead in the eye.  
“Be quiet.”


	13. handmade - well done

Quiet? I could do that. At least I hoped so.  
Arthur pushed me backwards until the backside of my knees hit his small cot and I plopped down onto it, looking up at him with wide eyes.  
Are we really going to..?  
God, send help. Please.  
I watched how he discarded his boots, gun-belt and satchel carelessly on the ground, hands working quick and efficient.  
He pointed at mine and I complied without a second thought, dropping them next to his.  
My heart was pounding against my ribcage, body trembling in anticipation. I was afraid and so fucking horny at the same time.  
Never thought I would come this far and especially not with him.  
Well, because who would have thought this could happen? Not me, that’s for sure. Still couldn’t believe this wasn’t a dream. But hell no, if this was my dream, I’d do whatever the fuck I’d like.  
A single candle sitting on the table beside his bed illuminated the tent just barley, but I could still make out the little smirk pulling on his lips.  
Jesus, how could someone be that hot?  
He strolled over casually, moving like a tiger that caught the pray and I sure as shit felt like one.  
In one swift motion, he pushed me down and laid on top of me, a single groan escaping my throat before I could stop it, because he was freaking heavy and he knew it, shifting instantly until he lay half next and half on me, one knee between my legs, his head resting on his plopped up elbow and hand, the other on my waist, he looked down on me with a sly smile.  
“Ain’t no need in crushin’ ya, darlin’”, he murmured and I chuckled.  
“You didn’t.”  
“Yeah, I did.”  
“Well, fine.”, I stated amused and Arthur huffed next to me.  
His body was pressed against my side and I could feel every movement of him. His unique smell made me dizzy and lightheaded. Not that I was very clear after our little make-out session before.  
His free hand came up to cup my chin, tilting my head to the side so he could look me in the eyes.  
“Everythin’ alright?”, he asked and I nodded.  
“Ya sure? If ya don’t want to…”  
I stopped him short by pulling at the front of his shirt until his lips landed on mine.  
Whoever taught him how to kiss like that, deserved a medal, telling you that.  
His hand caressed my cheek and neck while our kiss lasted and lasted, open-mouthed and all tongue, getting hotter every second.  
I couldn’t quite decide where to put my hands, so they traveled up and down his body. In his short hair, back to his broad shoulders, which tensed under my touch in the best of ways, down his chest towards his stomach.  
His body shuddered under my hands, pressing up against my side and my own responded in kind.  
When one of his hands slipped carefully under the fabric on my new blouse, I nearly lost it. The direct contact from skin on skin made my heart flutter and my breath hitch.  
Arthur broke the kiss for a short moment, smirking as he drank in my response to his touch, eyes hooded and lustful.  
His hand wandered carefully and oh- so gently over my belly, exploring every new patch he found.  
“Ya’re so fuc- I mean, ya so soft.”, he rasped in his deep voice, and I giggled softly, which turned into a low moan as he began nibbling and biting on the delicate skin at the underside of my jawline.  
The muscles in my belly clenched uncontrollably when his large hand wandered over it, from one side to the other, slowly, sliding deeper with every circle it made.  
The rough skin of his hand scratched in all the right ways and my body took the lead on his own, adjusting to his touch with slow bucking movements of my hips.  
I began to feel restless, on edge, every cell inside me screaming for anything, something more, much more.  
Arthur came up to my lips again, capturing them once more in a heated kiss that elicited a low moan out of me again, before I could stop it.  
His low chuckle wasn’t helping at all and a small sound of frustration made his way to the surface, stopping the movements of his hand.  
He withdrew a few inches and looked down, hand still splayed out under the blouse on my belly.  
“What?”, he breathed against my lips, pecking them softly and I rolled my eyes in return.  
“Nothing.”  
“Hm. What ya want, darlin’?”  
Oh, glad you asked. Everything, please. More, harder.  
“Don’t stop.”, I simply gave back, leaning up to capture his lips again.  
He huffed a small laugh, but complied and kissed me back, his tongue sliding between my parted lips and exploring my mouth like he had never done this before.  
My hips unwittingly bucked upwards in return and his hand resumed his caresses again, until he lifted the material of the blouse, exposing my naked skin to him.  
Right on cue, my insecurities kicked in and I thought too much about how I’d look to him. I was never the model-type, rather the well-okay-type, just normal. A little too much here and there.  
Arthur instantly sensed something was wrong and halted, looking up to watch my expression.  
“What’s wrong?”, he asked, eyes full of concern.  
I huffed, annoyed with my own behavior. I looked down on his hand on my stomach, the sight made me feel aroused and ashamed at the same time. Under his large palm, it didn’t look that bad and I was aware, that I lost a few pounds here, but I still couldn’t believe the fact, that Arthur Morgan wanted me of all people. Even though I could _feel_ he wanted me badly, pressed up hard and long against my thigh.  
“I- I,uh. ‘M just afraid you will not like what you’ll see.”, I muttered under my breath, cheeks hot and red and I tried to hide my face in the crook of his neck, deeply inhaling the scent of his skin.  
Arthur froze for a brief moment, then he grabbed my shoulder and turned me fully on my back again, hovering above me afterwards, slipping between my parted legs while doing so, elbows resting on either side of my head.  
He bucked his hips forward in a lazy motion and I hissed slightly, his erection trapped in his jeans pressing right on the best spot.  
Arthur leaned on one elbow, grabbed my right leg hard and hoisted it around his hip, changing the angle in a very good way and I moaned in response, hands grabbing around his tensed biceps in a desperate manner, my other leg wrapping around him as well.  
“’M not gonna say anythin’ more.”, he rasped and I simply nodded, unable to say anything clever in return.  
Statement was clear as a day, sir.  
He dipped down in a rush, his lips crashing down on mine and kissing me like I held the answer to all his problems.  
I responded in kind, relishing in the heat of the moment, blocking out every thought about camp, people milling around, that somebody could hear us or my insecurities.  
Damn, and how could I not?  
My hands wandered over his shirt, down to the waistband of his jeans and I untucked it in one swift motion, hands slipping under the fabric without a second though.  
Arthur let out a strangled sound when my hands reached his skin, warm and soft under my palms. I could feel some of his scars, his back was dotted with them and my heart broke a little over it. He went through so freaking much in his life, it was unfair.  
The muscles in his back shifted und tensed under my hands and I smiled against his lips, flexing my legs so I embraced him even more.  
The large hand on my thigh traveled down to my hip, over my side upwards. He stopped at the underside of my breasts, my bra barely visible under the blouse.  
“If ya want me to stop, jus’ say’it.”, he breathed against my lips, voice low and dark.  
I nodded and then shook my head. “No, don’t stop.”  
“’kay.”  
Arthur sat up on his knees, grabbed the fabric of my blouse and helped me out of it, dropping it to the ground with the other things.  
His eyes wandered over every inch of my upper-body and I squirmed under his intense gaze.  
“Damn.”  
That was it. The moment I was lost.  
I sat up as well, legs still around his hips, reaching out to undo the buttons of his shirt quickly, Arthur simply smirked and shrugged it off after I was finished, letting it fall to pile on the ground.  
“Jesus.”, I breathed as I drank his sight in and Arthur chuckled darkly.  
“Ya like what ya see?”, he mocked and I nodded, biting my bottom-lip.  
“God, yes.”  
I let my eyes trail over his form, the broad shoulders, the strong arms and pecs, the light hair dotting his chest and abdomen, the happy-trail vanishing in the waistband of his jeans and I needed to gulp hard. All them damn muscles flexing and showing off with every breath he took.  
I wanted to touch him, so badly. But he caught my wrist when I reached out, shaking his head slowly and pushing me back on the cot with his body.  
“Nah, ladies first, darlin’”.  
I inhaled deeply the moment our upper-bodies connected, naked skin on naked skin.  
He shuffled again, cursing under his breath while trying to find a comfortable position on the small cot, until he lay next to me, knee between my legs and before I could think too hard about what he wanted to do, he captured my lips with his again, successfully silencing every thought in my head.  
His hand found his way down to my jeans, undoing the buttons without much effort, skin tingling where he touched me and I moaned into his mouth, when it oh-so-fucking-slowly wandered inside.  
“Quiet.”, he demanded and I groaned, unable to keep still.  
Arthur knew exactly what he was doing, his fingertips creeping slowly under the fabric of my panties, torturing me with every inch he went.  
I was a whining mess under his touch, my body trembling and twitching in anticipation what would come.  
Finally, he reached where I wanted him the most, dipping between the hot folds and I moaned way too loud against his lips.  
“Ah, look at’ya. All read’an’wet fer me.”, he murmured near my ear, nearly pushing me over the edge with just his voice.  
“Oh-h, A-Arthur…”  
“’M right here, darlin’. Ain’t goin’ nowhere.”  
He dipped down to worship my jawline and neck, biting, nibbling and sucking, his scruff scratching my skin and I had a hard time concentrating on any of it.  
One of his fingers found my clit easily and my hips snapped up in return, grinding down against his hand without my permission and I heard myself moan while doing so.  
God, how I’d missed this. It had been way too long.  
Arthur chuckled lowly against my skin, his mouth travelling further south until he reached the top of my breast, stopping near the fabric of my black bra.  
“Dunno where’ya got these from, but I sure’as’shit like them.”, he murmured and I was only able to huff a small laugh, hands grabbing desperately in his hair.  
While he worked me up perfectly, his other hand moved the cup aside, exposing the soft skin to his mouth, where he instantly began sucking and licking, hardening my nub in no time.  
“Ah, sweet moth-“, I groaned, body trembling and twitching.  
When one of his fingers moved down to dip inside me, I couldn’t stop the loud gasp escaping my mouth and Arthur quickly hushed me with his hand, covering my lips up with his large palm.  
“Didn’t I’say quiet?”, he scolded me quietly, his breath fanning over the wet skin around my nipple, spurring on the heat inside me even further.  
“Very fun-“, I mumbled against his hand, stopping short when he added a second finger, stretching and filling me up perfectly.  
I moaned against his palm, the muscles in my legs jerking uncontrollably, the heat inside my belly spreading and rushing through every vein, setting my body on fire from the inside out.  
When I looked down, I nearly lost it right then. The sight of his strong arm, biceps bulged, veins very prominent visible at his forearm and muscles flexing with every movement of his fingers, vanishing into my jeans was one of the hottest things I ever witnessed.  
He released my mouth again, hand shifting to the cup on the opposite side, so he could worship both sensitives nubs by turns, switching between liking, biting and sucking.  
His eyes were fixated on me the whole time, the blue and green flickering in a dangerous and so fucking steamy way, I stumbled near the edge, close to falling.  
My left hand scratched over his broad back, trying hard to clutch onto anything, but he simply kept going.  
The interplay of his fingers, mouth and alone his body next to mine made me shudder, gasp and twitch under his touch.  
I normally wasn’t the type to prefer a hand job, there were much better things to get me off, but Arthur changed my mind very quickly.  
His hand moved in a dangerous rhythm, slow and deep, like he had all the time in the world to make me come, even though I wanted it now and I wanted it badly, I needed it.  
“I- uh. I- I wan-“, I stuttered low, halting Arthur’s caresses on my nipple, the wet-plop-sound it made when he released it, made my heart jump in my chest.  
He moved up again, his elbow resting near my head, eyes fixated on my face.  
“What ya’want?”, he murmured, voice deep and husky.  
He quickened the pace of his hand steadily, the sly bastard knowing exactly what I wanted from him.  
“More.”, I breathed against his lips and he smirked in response, leaning down to kiss me, his free hand threading in my hair, while he slowly- so fucking slowly- quickened the movements of his hand.  
I was a mess, my muscles already hurting a tiny bit from all the twitching, butterflies roaming around in my stomach, fire burning through my veins.  
His tongue invaded my mouth again and I wasn’t really able to keep up with him, the kiss turned into a messy one, breath mixing and I was a panting mess afterwards, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, whining and moaning, while he attacked my neck with sloppy kisses again.  
“A-Arthur, I-“  
He didn’t say anything, he simply moved his thumb right on the tiny bundle of nerves that held the answers to all my problems and I almost simultaneously took off into a new dimension, black and white spots appearing behind my closes eyelids, hands grabbing and scratching on everything they could reach, toes curling and muscles flexing as one of the most intensive orgasms every rippled through my over-sensitive body.  
Arthur quickly silenced the volley of oaths coming out of my mouth with his lips, his hand not faltering until the last wave of pleasure washed over me, leaving me breathless and sapped, body exhausted and satisfied at the same time.  
He withdrew his hand and looked down on me with a very smug smile on his lips, the smile of a man who knew exactly what he did and that he did it good.  
I needed a few seconds to collect myself, then I retuned the smile, even though it was a weak one.  
“That enough ‘more’ fer ya, princess?”, he rasped, leaning down to place a soft kiss on my lips.  
I chuckled. “Actually, I could think of a few mor-“  
“Arthur!”  
Hell no. No, no, no.  
Arthur froze and looked over his shoulder to the entrance of his tent.  
“What?!”, he bellowed, clearly upset with whoever stood outside.  
“We need ya.”  
Wait, that was John’s voice.  
Arthur looked down on me and I pouted, shaking my head slowly.  
“Don’t’chu dare leave me now, Morgan.”, I whispered.  
“Fer what, exactly? It’s close ta’ midnight, Marston. Whatever it’s, ‘m sure it can wait until tomorrow.”, he rasped, leaning down to kiss the underside of my jaw and I squeaked quietly, hands ruffling through his soft hair.  
“Nah, Dutch’s order, Morgan. Better get out here quick.”, came the dry reply and Arthur groaned annoyed, letting go of me to sit up. I reached for him, trying to pull him back on the cot, but he shook his head with a sad smile, kissing me quickly before standing up to get dressed again.  
“Be right there.”  
“’kay.”  
I could hear how John’s footsteps departed and fell back on the cot with a moan of annoyance, adjusting my bra and jeans again, watching how Arthur did the same with his, trying to find a comfortable position for his still very prominent erection.  
“We’re gonna get’a hotel room next time. Told ya it’s a nightmare ‘round here.”, Arthur said quietly, leaning down to capture my lips with his one last time.  
“Count me in on that.”, I murmured against his mouth, he withdrew and smiled down on me, eyes trailing over my face and body.  
“God, ya so fuc- I mean, ya so beautiful.”, he rasped, cheeks a little red and my smile grew even bigger.  
“Morgan!”  
John’s voice shouted from the outside and Arthur grumbled, heading towards the exit of his tent with two long strides.  
“’M gonna kill that son’of’abitch.”, he cursed under his breath, but then he stopped short and looked over his shoulder back to me.  
“U-uhm. Ya can stay here if ya like.”, he said, voice softer, small smile on his lips.  
I gulped, smiling like a dumbass.  
“Sure. Be safe.”  
“Always am.”  
With that, he went outside, the tent-flaps closing behind him, leaving me still fucking horny and ready for more.  
With a loud sigh, I stood up, undressed and grabbed one of Arthur’s shirts out of his trunk, slipping into it and laying down on the cot with the two blankets covering my body.  
Damn, what a day.  
With his scent filling my nose, I doze off a few minutes later, dreaming of a hot cowboy and other nasty stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that was my first half-smut chapter I've ever written. ouh.  
feel free to tell me what ya'll think, please. :o


	14. damn

As it turned out, it hadn’t been that important, they just needed to get Sean out of the Rhodes’ Saloon, drunk as a skunk and ready to start a fight any minute.  
Arthur dropped the Irish bastard with a loud thud on his mattress, grumbling curses under his breath while doing so.  
“Thank’ya, English.”, the red-haired outlaw babbled, instantly turning on his stomach to get some sleep.  
Arthur huffed and turned towards his tent. “Asshole.”  
John giggled, patting his shoulder as he walked beside him, not sensing how Arthur’s muscles tensed under his touch.  
He was mad at him, mad that he stopped his little intermezzo with Sophie, even though he was also glad, because on the ride into town, he realized that he maybe took it too far.  
Arthur wanted to make things for once right, he wanted to take things slow, he didn’t want to rush their relationship or whatever it was. But good God, he just couldn’t help himself.  
Sophie drove him crazy, wild and careless, usually not attributes he would apply on himself.  
With all the bullshit he went through in the past, he should know it better.  
He shook his head and shrugged John’s hand off.  
“G’night, John.”, he rumbled and stepped into his tent, ignoring the mumbled reply from the younger outlaw.  
He stopped short, drinking in the sight of the woman lying on his cot, legs bare and tangled into the blanket, her brown hair spread out on his pillow.  
Arthur chuckled quietly when he realized she wore his dark green shirt, the second one she stole from him, not that he really minded, though.  
He didn’t want to disturb her sleep, so he carefully grabbed his spare bedroll from under his bed and unrolled it on the ground, laying down with a low grunt, shuffling until he lay halfway comfortable.  
Her smell was intoxicating, hanging in the air like a thick fog, his body responding in kind and he shuffled again, trying to find a good position to sleep in.  
After a few restless minutes, he gave up with a sigh and rolled on his back again, staring at the black ceiling of his tent.  
It had been so long since he last slept next to woman, even if she didn’t lay right next to him, he could still feel her presence and that was enough for his touch-starved body.  
Without his permission, his thoughts wandered back to a few hours’ prior, her body quivering and twitching under his touch, every part of her screaming for him and Jesus, he had wanted it so badly, he still wanted it.  
He wanted to bury himself deep inside her, he wanted her to scream his name in ecstasy so everybody could hear exactly who pleased her, he wanted to get lost with her, just forget the mess he currently called his life for a few moments.  
He dragged his palm all over his face, sighing in the process.  
He knew better than that.  
She deserved better than this, he knew that and he really wanted to try, for her.  
So he got himself together, figured a new plan out in his head and finally dozed off after what felt like hours. 

*

“You sure this is safe?”  
“Yeah, trust me Abigail.”  
“’kay.”  
Pause.  
“You done this before?”  
“Jesus Christ, Abigail. Yes, I have. Would you please let me teach him?”  
“Ya’re distractin’, Abigail. Maybe ya should get lost.”  
“Don’chu dare talk to me like that, John! He’s my so-“  
“He’s my son either, so shut it.”  
“How-“  
“Don’ch-“  
“Would you two shut the fuck up, please?”  
Silence.  
“Thank you.”  
Arthur chuckled in his tent, he woke with the sound of Sophie’s voice in his ears, but she wasn’t here, apparently she was somewhere outside and he was curious what all the fuss was about.  
So he emerged out his tent after he freshened a bit up, turning the corner to see nearly the whole camp standing along the shoreline, watching the lake with interest.  
“The hell is goin’on here?”, he asked Lenny, who stood with a coffee cup in his hands.  
The darker man flashed him a huge grin and pointed towards the water.  
“See yaself.”  
It was still early, even though Arthur slept way longer than he mostly did, maybe around nine or ten o’clock, the sun beating down already high in the sky and Arthur was for a short moment dazzled by the reflection of the water but when his eyes adjusted, he huffed a small laugh.  
Sophie and John were standing waist-deep in the water, Jack dangling in her arms, naked like the day he was born, Abigail paced on the shore-line with her feet in the water, watching everything with a deep frown on her face.  
“So, you remember what I told you?”, Sophie asked Jack and the little one nodded eagerly.  
“Yeah.”  
“Good, I’m gonna hold you now, but you need to perform those movements I’ve shown you, got it?”  
Jack nodded again, his adorable face pinched in concentration.  
Sophie moved her hands to his sides, holding him afloat the surface.  
Abigail let out a small gasp and stopped her pacing.  
“You okay?”  
Jack nodded again. “Yes.”  
“Good, now do as I told you. Hands; Legs.”  
Jack began performing small swimming-motions, his arms and legs fighting against the water.  
Lenny chuckled next to Arthur, handing him his mug. He took it with a thankful nod and drowned the last few drags in one go.  
Charles, who stood next to Lenny, watched everything with folded arms, a small smile on his lips. Hosea, Dutch and Molly giggled on Arthur’s left, all eyes on Jack and Sophie.  
Mary-Beth and Tilly went to Abigail, grabbing her by the shoulder and comforting her to relax a little.  
Sophie’s soothing voice travelled over the lake, encouraging Jack to keep going, adjusting his movements so he would learn to keep himself above the water.  
Arthur was impressed, he knew of course she was good in what she was doing, heard it from Hosea and Abigail, but he had never seen it live before.  
She must’ve been a hell of a teacher back where she was from.  
“John, stand a few feet away, please.”  
John did what he was told instantly and Dutch barked out a loud laugh at that.  
“We should hire Sophie to keep the men in line, Hosea.”, he said loud enough for everybody to hear and a fit of laughter erupted around them.  
“Agreed.”  
John’s raised middle-finger was response enough for them and they laughed even louder.  
“I’m impressed she got John into the water.”, Charles said and Lenny chuckled.  
“Heard he’s the next one.”  
“Whut?”  
“Yeah. They made a deal, he learns how to swim, helps with Jack’s swim-lessons and then Miss Kendall will take him on a date.”  
Arthur chocked on his own spit, a couple of heads flying in his direction. Charles gave him an unreadable look, his gaze a mix of amusement and compassion.  
“What?!”  
Lenny shrugged, patting Arthur’s back with force.  
“Ya good?”  
“Mh-m.”  
“That’s what I heard. But, ya know John. Who knows if that’s even the truth.”  
Charles shook his head, brows furrowed. “Ain’t he still with Abigail?”  
“Nah, I don’t think so.”  
“Jesus.”, Arthur breathed low, his eyes trailing over to Sophie and John, standing a few feet apart and helping Jack to swim the short distance between them.  
The green fabric of the shirt she was wearing, well actually it was still his shirt, clung to her body like a second skin and he needed to swallow hard.  
The Dark-Indian man came strolling over, stopping next to Arthur.  
“Hey, I wouldn’t interpret too much into it.”, he whispered low, tilting his head a bit to the side.  
Arthur huffed.  
“Maybe. Ain’t sure what to think ‘bout it.”  
“You should ask her. Just talk to her when she’s done.”  
“Hm. We’ll see.”  
Charles nudged his shoulder. “John’s full of shit, you know that.”  
“Sure.”  
They stood a moment in silence, watching Jack’s successful swimming attempts.  
“So, you like her then?”, Charles said under his breath.  
Arthur turned his head to look at him, brow furrowed.  
That was a very good question.  
“U-uhm. I-I think, yeah.”, he mumbled.  
Charles chuckled.  
“What?”  
“You think you like here? Arthur, I don’t know you that long, but I’ve never seen you that way before.”  
“That way? What’chu mean?”  
Lenny piped up next to them. “Agreed.”  
Arthur looked helplessly between them both, trailing between two sets of brown eyes.  
“The hell? Ya told’im?”  
“Told me what?”  
Charles shook his head. “No. But he ain’t blind, Arthur.”  
“He told me what?”  
Arthur ducked his head, avoiding Lenny’s intense gaze.  
“Nuthin’.”  
The younger outlaw barked out a laugh, turning a bit red.  
“Ah, I can imagine. I don’t need ta know, boys.”  
With that, he turned and strolled into the middle of camp, leaving Charles and Arthur alone.  
“Great, now you hurt him.”, Charles stated with a smirk and Arthur chuckled.  
“Christ, this’s a huge mess, tell ya that.”  
Charles nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, you should talk to her.”  
“Probably.”  
Jack let out a loud shriek followed by a laugh and they both turned their heads back to the lake, watching how the little one climbed back into Sophie’s arms, giggling while he embraced her neck, grinning from ear to ear.  
Sophie patted his back and smiled, slowly wandering out of the water towards Abigail, who waited with a towel to greet her soaked son.  
Arthur’s eyes nearly fell out of his head, when Sophie’s legs emerged out of the water, leaving her mid-thigh bare and glistening in the sun.  
She really just wore his green shirt.  
“Oh.”, was all Charles managed to rasp out, then he suddenly turned and went somewhere else.  
The whole gang went back to her original activities after the show was over, vanishing one by one.  
Sophie stood speaking with Abigail and John, while Arthur went to grab a towel, handing it to her without a comment.  
She nodded in thanks, giving him a small smile, while he waited for her to finish.  
John caught his gaze, smirking widely, his head nodding faintly in Sophie’s direction and her bare legs, still visible under the towel.  
Oh, he wanted to punch him. Hard. Very, very hard.  
In this particular moment, he wanted everyone to know what he had done to her last night, that he was the one to make her come, that his hand was enough for her to lose her mind, that he knew how adorable and beautiful she was under this towel, how she smelled and tasted, how her eyes went wild when he kissed her and did other things to her body. He wanted-  
“Arthur. Arthur!”  
He snapped out of it, his eyes focusing back on Abigail.  
“What?”  
“I’ve asked you a question.”, she deadpanned and he cleared his throat a tiny bit embarrassed.  
“Yeah, sure. What ya asked?”  
The trio in front of him chuckled and Jack smirked in Abigail’s arms.  
“How did ya learn to swim?”, Jack piped up in his high voice.  
Arthur huffed. “Ah, not as good as ya, that’s for sure. Dutch simply pushed me into a lake and that was it.”  
Jack’s eyes went wide. “No, he did not.”  
“Yes he did, kiddo. So, consider yarself lucky.”  
Abigail kissed Jack on cheek. “Come one little one, let’s get you something to eat.”  
Jack nodded and Abigail turned around, she addressed Sophie over her shoulder while walking towards the stew-pot.  
“Thank you, Sophie. Tomorrow again?”  
Sophie nodded. “Sure thing.”  
“Good. John?”  
John shuffled on his feet, unsure what to do, his gaze flickering between the two women, then he sighed and followed behind them.  
“Comin’.”  
Finally alone, Sophie turned to look over the lake, snuggling into the towel, a smile on her lips.  
Arthur rested his hands on his gun belt, watching the woman next to him out of the corner of his eyes.  
She was stunning.  
“Nobody saw me.”, she stated after a few moments and he frowned.  
“What?”  
She turned her head to look at him.  
“I went to my own tent before dawn, so nobody saw me coming out of yours.”  
“U-uh. ‘kay.”  
“I thought you wanted that.”  
Arthur grabbed her shoulder lightly to turn her towards him, catching her grey eyes with his.  
“Nah, I don’care what the camp thinks.”, he mumbled and Sophie raised her eyebrows in return.  
“Really? Yesterday you told me we couldn’t-“  
“I know what I said. But ya know what? Fuck it.”  
Sophie’s expression went from surprised to concerned.  
“But-“  
Arthur cut her off.  
“Listen, I want to try, okay? I dunno if it works, hell, ‘m not a good man and I-  
“Seriously? That “good-man-debate again?”, she huffed and Arthur chuckled.  
“As I wanted to say; I want ya. Last night was, well, it was maybe a little rushed but exactly what I wanted. I want ya, all of ya. I want to try, I want to see ya happy, to make ya happy.”  
“You want that?”, she whispered and he nodded.  
“Yeah. But maybe we can slow things a little down, don’chu think?”  
She nodded. “I guess. I’m still waiting for my date, Mr. Morgan.”  
Arthur laughed a full belly-laugh, then he took a tiny step closer to her.  
“I know. What ‘bout my date, darlin’? Heard ya had one with John now.”, he mumbled and Sophie seemed to think about it.  
“Ah, you jealous, Mr. Morgan?”, she said in a bitter-sweet-tone, pouting and teasing him with biting her lip on purpose, her eyes surveying every reaction of his face.  
“Stop that.”, he rasped out, taking another small step forward and leaning down a bit.  
Sophie’s lashes fluttered and she gave him a well-played-confused look.  
“What do you mean?”  
He growled, deep in his chest, ready to show her exactly what he meant but he composed himself and straightened back up, giving her long up and down, sensing how she tensed up under his intense gaze.  
“I’ll pick ya up at seven, today. Better be ready.”  
She nodded, cheeks red and eyes wide, so he had quite the effect on her, good to know.  
He turned and made his way back towards his tent, but then he stopped and said over his shoulder: “Nice shirt by the way.”

*

I was nervous, so fucking nervous.  
The rest of the day went by so freaking slowly, the time mocking me by ticking way slower than usual, I swear.  
After my swim-lesson with Jack, I helped the girls with doing the laundry and chopped some vegetables for Pearson, doing one chore after the other.  
I tried hard not to think too much about tonight, but my mind went back to it again and again.  
What would we do?  
What should I expect from a date back in this time?  
Well, the first-kiss-part was clearly off the list, the first-hand-job, too.  
Goddamn.  
Heat crept up my cheeks when I thought about last night, my stomach fluttering and jumping.  
I never ever had a hand-job that good, and my mind was still processing the fact, that Arthur was clearly a right-handed man and that he did these things to my body with his left one.  
Like, what would it be when he’ll use his good hand?  
“Sophie?”  
I jumped, the knife I held clattering on the table.  
“Hm?”  
“Jesus, calm yourself.”  
Pearson gave me a confused look and I didn’t blame him.  
“Sorry. My head was somewhere else.”, I said back, grabbing the knife again.  
“Clearly, but if you keep chopping more carrots, we’re gonna choke on them.”, he mocked, pointing at the huge pile of chopped carrots in front of me.  
I sighed. “Sure. Sorry.”  
He chuckled and came around the table, patting my shoulder absently.  
“You’re fine. Just go and bother someone else, we’re done here.”, he said amused, smiling and shaking his head while he watched me go.  
I stood for a moment lost in the middle of camp, eyeing the people around me.  
What now?  
Sadie saved me, hollering for me from her seat on a fallen tree near the shoreline, so I hurried over, slumping down next to her.  
“You looked a little lost there, Kendall. What’s wrong?”, she asked once I sat down.  
We became fast friends on our little trip to Rhodes, Sadie was fun and pleasant company, easy to talk to and I enjoyed it.  
“U-uh. I’m just useless right now.”, I stated, hands balling into fists in my lap.  
She raised one eyebrow at me and smiled.  
“And why’s that?”  
“Ah, you know.”, I tried to play it down but she snorted.  
“Don’chu gimme that now. What ‘s it?”  
“Nothing, really. Just a bit distracted.”, I said, avoiding her questioning gaze and watching the ducks chilling on the lake.  
“M-hm. Let me guess.”, she said and I shrugged, not looking at her.  
“Go on.”  
“I’d bet all my money, that it has somethin’ to do with a blonde; handsome; cowboy chopping firewood right now.”  
My head flew around within seconds, eyes searching the empty wood block.  
“Got’cha.”  
“Damnit, Sadie.”, I mumbled, giving her an annoyed look.  
She was simply grinning from ear to ear, jabbing my upper arm with her forefinger.  
“I knew it. Why didn’t you say somethin’?”, she asked and I shrugged her off.  
“There’s nothing to tell right now.”  
“Yeah, sure. You like him, right?”  
I huffed. “I guess.”  
“You guess? Really? Sophie..”  
I stood up abruptly, pacing from side to side. In defeat, I raised my hands and came to a stop in front of her.  
“Fine, I like him. A lot, okay?”  
She nodded, tilting her head a bit. “And?”  
“And what?”  
“What’s the problem then?”  
I opened my mouth to speak, but then I paused.  
Exactly, what was the problem?  
“I- I dunno, to be honest.”  
Sadie watched me carefully, brows furrowed.  
“He likes you back, that much I can tell. You don’t want no man in your life or what?”, she asked and I hesitated.  
“Well, it’s more complicated than that, Sadie. Apart from that, this camp is one huge gossip factory and everybody would talk about it.”  
She chuckled a raspy laugh. “And?”  
I huffed. “I dunno. It’s a mess.”  
The blonde woman sat in silence, processing my words a few minutes, while I sat down next to her again.  
“You know, I really loved my Jake.”, she began silently and I looked at her.  
“Sadie you don’t have to-“  
“He was a good man, better than I deserved. His loss- well, it nearly broke me, really did. I mean, you saw me, saw the walking corpse I was.”, she went on, a sad smile on her lips and I chuckled.  
“Yeah, I did.”  
“But it was worth it, every single tear I shed, it was worth the life I had with him. The pain crushed me, but I would never decide against love in the future.”  
“L-love is a pretty big-“  
“Sophie.”, she interrupted me, one hand landing warm on my thigh. “You deserve it, he deserves it. You both do.”  
I huffed a laugh. “O-okay.”  
She chuckled with me. “And fuck the camp’s opinion. They’ll come around sooner or later.”  
My eyes focused on the sand between my boots. “’guess. Apart from John.”  
“Marston is a fool, Sophie. He ain’t the right one for you, trust me. He’s not half the man he thinks he’s.”  
“You better don’t let him hear that.”, a deep voice said from behind us and we turned our heads to look up at Hosea, standing there and watching us with an amused grin on his lips.  
Sadie laughed. “Oh, I’d love to throw it right into his face, Hosea.”  
The older man chuckled and stepped around the log to face us. “Ah, I know, Mrs. Adler. I know.”  
“Good.”  
“But it has to wait, my dear. I need Miss Sophie to run a little errand for me- with John.”, he stated low, watching my face while he spoke.  
I flinched. “Now?”  
“Yes, my dear. Now.”  
I sighed. “Sure, what do you need?”  
He gestured towards the lake. “Such a beauty, ain’t she?”  
Sadie locked eyes with mine for a brief moment, then she looked up at him in confusion.  
“Sure.”  
“Always loved being around the water.”, he continued and I frowned.  
“M-hm.”  
“Regardless, I’d send Arthur with you, Sophie, but unfortunately he is nowhere to be found.”, he finished and I shrugged.  
“It’s okay. What should we do?”  
Hosea smiled, then he looked up, searching for someone.  
“John!”  
We heard a muffled “Yeah?” from somewhere behind us, until footsteps came closer after a few moments.  
“Can you take Miss Sophie into town and get me some ammo for my guns? Varmit and the Repeater?”, he asked, his gaze flickering between the two of us.  
John gulped and sighed. “Really? All the way down there for ammo?”  
Hosea nodded unfazed. “I want to go hunting soon, John. We need to eat, right?”  
The younger outlaw shrugged. “Sure. Now?”  
“Yes, now my dear boy.”  
“Both of us?”  
“Nobody goes alone, John. You know the rules.”  
“But Arthur-“  
“Arthur is a big boy, you two go together, now.”  
“But-“  
“John.”, Hosea’s voice got a little threating and I stood quickly to face John, his eyes lingering on mine a little too long.  
“Let’s go.”, I said, stepping over the log to walk past him towards the horses.  
Sadie and Hosea spoke in hushed voices behind me, but I couldn’t quite get what they were talking about.  
Once on the road, we rode in silence, the horses trotting away at an easy pace.  
It was hot, nearly 4 o’clock and still hot as hell and I began sweating under my white blouse and black pants.  
I cast a glance in John’s direction, sitting tall on Old Boy, dirty black pants and a dark red shirt, his hat shielding his eyes from the unforgiving sun.  
He caught me staring and a tiny smirk pulled on his lips, prompting me to blush and look away quickly.  
Why was I still attracted to this man?  
I mentally slapped myself and tried to focus on the task at hand. I still didn’t quite get why we both needed to go into town now, but what the hell, if it made Hosea happy, I was up for it.  
We entered Rhodes a while later, greeted by a few and ignored by a lot other.  
“Here we go.”, John mumbled, sliding off of Old Boy’s back.  
I followed suit and we went into the gunsmith, John purchasing the stuff Hosea wanted.  
He made quick work and we stepped outside again just a few minutes later, pausing under the front porch of the building.  
John stood in front of me, hands in his pockets, swaying on his feet a tiny bit.  
“What is it, John?”, I asked him, already sensing he wanted to speak with me.  
“About the date.”, he rasped and I rolled my eyes in return.  
“What about it?”  
“Well, I thought-“  
His sentence was cut short by a strange noise from our right and he stopped short, tilting his head to the side.  
“What the hell-?”  
He stepped around me down the steps, halting in front of a tiny window near the ground.  
“What the hell ‘re ya doin’ down there?”, he asked someone hidden in the cellar and it clicked.  
“The gunsmith took him.”, I blurted out before the man could say something and John looked over his shoulder at me.  
“What?”  
The man grabbing desperately at the iron bars yelled up at us. “Yes! She’s right. He took me, said I’m his lost son or somethin’ like that. He’s crazy, mister! I’m a grown man, not some toy he gets to play with! Please, help me!”  
I went down and stopped next to John, pointing at the poor man.  
“We need to help him, John. This man really is crazy, look at him. All dressed up like a sailor.”  
John frowned and took a step back.  
“’kay. Step back, mister. Ya too.”  
“J-John, what-?”  
“Get into cover.”, he simply rasped in my direction, reaching for some dynamite in his satchel and attaching it on the bars of the cellar.  
I gulped. “We simply could get inside and speak-“  
“I said; get into cover, Sophie!”  
I raised my hands in surrender and went around the side of the building, hiding at the backside, palm on my ears until the ground shook under the loud ‘boom’ of the explosion.  
A few moments later, John came running around the corner, grabbing my hand and pulling me alongside him.  
“What-“  
“Good news; he’s free. Bad news; law’s on us.”  
“John!”, I screamed breathless, running hand in hand down the street in the shadows of the buildings.  
He simply laughed a wheezy laugh, pulling me relentlessly behind with him.  
Well, Rhodes wasn’t a big town to start with and the street ended sooner or later, leaving us standing there in the open, panting and trying to catch our breaths.  
“U-uh, I thi-“  
“Hey! Stop right there!”  
The Sheriff and two Deputys rounded the corner and John pulled us over the street, running behind the backsides, until he hid between two buildings on the opposite side of the road, the last few ones on this side.  
There were a few crates sitting on the wall blocking the view and he quickly pulled me in front of him, back against the stone, side pressed up against the wood of the crates, his body pushing me back.  
I tried hard to catch my breath and to calm my flattering nerves, his closeness not helping at all. I could feel his quick heartbeat and heaving chest against my own, his scent; wood, horse, musk and something I couldn’t quite place, filling my nose.  
I couldn’t see anything, just him and the crates next to us. He craned his neck to look over the boxes and my eyes wandered down the strained muscles, gulping hard at the sight.  
“John-“  
He instantly hushed me with his right hand on my mouth, his left one coming up to rest on the wall next to my head.  
“Shh.”, he whispered while continuing to watch out for the law.  
I stood frozen in place, wanting to be somewhere else and fast.  
My mind wandered into dangerous territory, his body, scent and muscles pressing up against me stirring on the fire even more.  
I just couldn’t help myself, really.  
“Shit.”  
I opened my eyes again and looked up at him, his head snapping in my direction and he released my mouth carefully.  
“Jus’ play alon’.”, he rasped silently and I frowned in confusion, not knowing what he meant.  
“Wha-“  
His lips crashed down on mine with force and I gasped in surprise, his right hand coming up to cradle my neck in his large hand, pressing me even further into him.  
I stood in shock. Unable to move or process anything that happened right now. His lips were soft and chapped, but so gentle and hard at the same time.  
My mind went blank the moment the tip of his tongue carefully slid over my lips, coaxing my mouth open without much effort and my permission, but he somehow managed to shut off every reasonable thought in my head.  
To my and his surprise, I kissed him back.  
My body shuddering and relaxing at the same time under his gentle touch.  
Somewhere far away and out of my orbit, I could hear footsteps approaching, then they stopped and someone cleared their throat audibly in discomfort, until a single ‘sorry’ waved in our direction, then whoever it was departed backwards, leaving us alone again.  
I could feel John smile against my lips, then he nipped at my bottom one, biting down softly and releasing it with a little ‘pop’.  
His hand wandered from my neck over my arm to my waist, grabbing it and squeezing slightly.  
All the while, his mouth traveled to my throat, sucking and biting all the way down there, eliciting a small moan out of me before I could stop it.  
Out of pure instinct, my hands came up to ruffle through his short hair, prompting his hat to fall down on the ground but he didn’t even flinch.  
He came back up to capture my lips again, his tongue invading my mouth forcefully, meeting mine in a heated fight for dominance and finding an arousing rhythm that made my head spin.  
John tasted wonderful, never thought I’d say that, but he did.  
Suddenly and out of the blue, he stepped back and untangled myself from him, surveying my trembling body with a dirty smirk.  
“I think they bought it.”, he stated in his raspy voice, even more raspier than usual, bending down to pick up his hat again.  
I blinked; dumbfounded. “Bought what?”  
“The distraction.”  
I blinked a few times more, watching how his face lit up with amusement and a little pride.  
“You-“  
He interrupted my building reproach and stepped back into the alley, motioning for me to follow suit.  
“C’mon. Hosea ‘s waitin’ for his ammo.”  
_That dirty son’of’a’bitch. Shit._


	15. picnic for two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle up, folks. the smut-train is coming in hot!  
that was my first time writing something like that and it was soooo hard, so please- let me know what you guys think about it! I'm dying to know.  
well- then, enjoy!

“Ya okay?”  
I shook myself back into reality, looking up to catch Arthur’s blue-green eyes watching me with concern.  
I cleared my throat awkwardly.  
“Y-yeah, u-hm, sure.”  
“Ya not here, ain’t ya?”, he asked in his deep voice, rearranging his limbs so he sat with one leg bend.  
It wasn’t fair, I knew it, but I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering back to John and this stupid kiss again and again.  
It was killing me.  
After we came back to camp, I instantly needed to get ready for my date with Arthur, absently washing in the lake and pulling on new clothes to look halfway presentable, hair in a messy braid.  
As promised, he waited at my tent to pick me up, leaving camp behind soon afterwards.  
We rode for a short time, I’m not quite sure where exactly we were, my mind wasn’t able to follow the route we took, but we ended up in a small forest, on a clearing with a little steam dabbling away next to us.  
It was stunning, beautiful and best of all, secluded.  
Arthur had stretched out a red blanket on the grass and conjured all kinds of food out of his satchel, placing me in the middle of it and sitting down in front of me.  
It was cute, so freaking cute and my guilty conscience was eating me up.  
I coughed again in discomfort, avoiding his gaze.  
“No, sure. I’m here.”  
His smile faltered a bit and he took a long sip from his beer, balancing the bottle on his knee afterwards.  
“What ‘s it?”, he asked after a few moments of silence.  
“This mornin’ everythin’ seemed fine, now ya sit here like I’d done somethin’ wrong.”  
I sighed deeply.  
“I’m sorry.”, I said lamely and he huffed.  
“For what? Ya changed ya mind ‘bout us?”, the second sentence came out like a whisper and I shook my head instantly.  
“No, that’s not it. I- uh.”, I paused for a second. “Dammit. I-I did something..- bad.”  
The words were killing me, but I couldn’t lie to him, not like this.  
I knew how it felt to be betrayed like that, your fiancée sleeping with your best friend a few weeks before your planned wedding did something like that to you, but I never thought I’d be able to do something like that to someone I really care about. And I really cared about Arthur. More than I’d like to admit to myself.  
“A-Arthur, I- uh..”  
“Christ, Sophie. Jus’ spit’it out. Can’t be that bad.”, he rasped, the bottle on his knee swaying dangerously from side to side.  
I fumbled with the hem of my shirt, inhaling a deep breath.  
“I kissed John.”  
There, that was it. We were done for sure.  
The bottle stopped and his body went rigid, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.  
“Ya did what-?”  
“Well, actually h-he kissed me, but that’s not the point. I didn’t do anything to stop him.”, I babbled, trying to compose myself, to defend my stupid action from earlier.  
“I- I didn’t know how; he- w-we, we were chased by the law in Rhodes and tried to outrun them, b-but we failed and ended up in an alley, where he simply kissed me to trick them into believing we were just simple townsfolk. I-I am so sorry, Arthur. I- damn. Fuck it. I’m such a fool. I deserve that-“  
“John kissed ya to trick some lawmen?”  
“W-well, yea-“  
He cut me off with a low chuckle, which turned into a full belly-laugh, his body shaking under fits of laughter.  
I stared at him open-mouthed, that was clearly not the reaction I had anticipated.  
“What’s so funny?”  
His right hand came up to drag over his face and he shook his head.  
“My, my, Marston. Ain’t ya a greasy little son’of’a’bitch.”, he stated, still chuckling.  
“I- I don’t-“, I began but he simply waved me off.  
“Don’t lose ya head ‘bout it, Sophie. He’s playin’ with ya, he’s- well, clever. Never thought I’d say this.”, he said, shaking his head while trying to contain his laughter.  
“But-“  
He put the bottle aside and leaned forward to grab my hand, pulling at it so I shuffled closer to him, ending up sitting right in front of him.  
With two fingers under my chin he lifted my face up to face him, eyes searching mine.  
“’M glad ya told me ‘bout it, Sophie.”, he said and I frowned.  
“You’re not mad?”  
He shook his head.  
“Nah. Not at ya, at least. And as long as ‘m the only one doin’ this all the time without the need to pull a con.”, he murmured with a smirk, leaning all the way forward to press a soft kiss to my lips.  
The big fat stone blocking my heart finally fell off and I sighed in relief.  
Damn, I had expected a big fight, or at least some yelling, or that Arthur would ditch me instantly but for sure not this reaction.  
The kiss only lasted a few moments, then he pulled back, surveying my face.  
“That’s the reason why ya didn’t eat anythin’?”, he asked, pointing at the food around us.  
I chuckled weakly.  
“Yep.”  
Arthur reached around me for some grapes, holding them in his huge hand out for me.  
“’kay, better start eatin’ now. Shit wasn’t easy te’get.”, he rasped, feeding me with the sweet fruit.  
It tasted wonderful, a fruit so rare in these days, that I ate up every single one of them, sharing with Arthur of course.  
He also had crackers with cheese, salted meat, cans of various fruits and some apple pie which tasted like heaven.  
“Jesus, I’m full.”, I said after nearly everything was gone, leaning back on my elbows to watch the big outlaw munching on some pie.  
He smirked, mouth full of cake until he suddenly grabbed my feet to place them in his lap, his free hand caressing my shin in tiny circles.  
With a loud sigh, I let my body fall back, watching the sky through the treetops fading from blue to a stunning mix of orange, red and purple.  
That day was a freaking rollercoaster of emotions and I was tired, on the inside and outside.  
I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of nature around me. Birds, the wind, the ruffling of deer in the bushes, well, hopefully deer, the water splashing down the creek.  
“This place is beautiful.”, I said without opening my eyes and Arthur simply hummed in agreement, his hands still caressing my legs.  
“And thank you for not- you know, snapping or something like that.”  
His hands stopped and he snorted offended.  
“What ya thought would happen?”, he asked me lowly and I shrugged.  
“Dunno. Maybe that you’d head back to camp like a rowdy and beat the shit out of John.”, I said only half-jokingly and Arthur snickered in response.  
“Ah, ain’t quite decided yet. That could still happen, ya know?”  
I plopped myself up on my elbows with a start.  
“Arthur!”  
A huge grin pulled on his lips.  
“Jus’ kiddin’.”  
“Mh-m. Sure.”  
He took one last sip of his beer, then his eyes lingered on me.  
“Ya like it here then?”  
I nodded. “Yeah, love it. Thank you for taking me.”  
He tilted his head a bit to the side, reaching for his unique hat and placing it down next to the empty beer bottle, eyes glistening with mischief.  
“What are you doing?”  
In one swift motion, he grabbed my knees, opened them for himself and pulled me back, until he could slip between them, laying down and pinning me underneath him.  
I gasped at the action, hands resting on his shoulders and looking up at him with wide eyes.  
These stunning blue-green pools stared down at me, heat and something else flickering inside them.  
He was heavy, but it felt good, his body an enjoyable weight on my own. At least we had some space here, not like yesterday in his cot, where just one person was already too much for this poor bed.  
I couldn’t help the dumb smile forming on my lips, one hand travelling to his cheek to cup it gently. My thumb trailing over the scar sitting on his chin, always visible through his beard. He instantly leaned into it, his stubble scratching just in the right way.  
“Where did you get this from?”, I asked him, always curious for new story’s and he smirked.  
“Ah, Christ. This one ‘s embarrassin’, tell ya that much.”  
The underside of my thumb slid over the long healed scar tissue and Arthur let out a long sigh, eyes locking with mine.  
“Got’it as a reminder from the first horse I ever broke.”  
I raised my eyebrows in question.  
“How?”  
“Was a mean son’of’a’bitch, that stallion. Bucked me right into a fence, broke my left arm and some ribs as well.”  
I gasped. “Jesus!”  
“Yeah, Hosea and Dutch enjoyed themselves on my behalf in that moment, until I stood up again and was covered in blood. Cut on the chin bleeds like hell, trust me.”  
I leaned up to press a soft kiss right on the scar in question and he smiled down on me.  
“How old were you back then?”  
He chuckled dryly. “Thirteen or fourteen, somethin’ like that.”  
My eyes went wide. “What?!”  
His hands skimmed over my sides and a shudder ran down my spine, his small smile telling that he noticed it.  
“Long time ago now.”, he mumbled near my lips, gaze flickering between my mouth and eyes, back and forth.  
“I really want us to work out, Arthur. What happened today, will never ever happen again.”, I murmured honestly and he only smiled in return, leaning down to kiss me.  
It started so soft, sweet and so chaste, that my heart nearly swelled over with sweetness and feelings for this man.  
He gave me all the time in the world, handing me the reins over, only involving his lips, nothing more.  
Regardless the fact, that I wanted more.  
I caught his bottom-lip with my teeth, biting down softly and relishing in the soft groan that escaped his lips.  
Arthur braced himself up with his elbows on either side of my head, one hand stroking softly through my hair and I let my hands wander to his sides, the warmth of his body heating up my palms and insides as well.  
Deepening the kiss, I coaxed his lips open, sliding my tongue inside to find his. He let me, playing along and greeting it with pleasure.  
He tasted a bit like beer and apple-pie and Arthur of course, a combination that made my breath hitch and my belly flutter.  
The muscles on his back tensed under my touch, his body shifting a tiny bit and pressing down on mine delicately.  
I let my hands wander all the way down to his jeans, freeing him from his gun belt on the way and sliding under the fabric of his baby blue shirt afterwards, finding the warm and soft skin of his back.  
The kiss grew a little messy, my ability to hold back went out the window the moment one of his hands came down to untuck my grey blouse and slid under it, the skin-on-skin contact of his hand enough to make me dizzy.  
My fingers had a hard time fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, but I was rewarded with the sight of a shirtless Arthur once I was finished, helping him out of it and letting the blue fabric fall on the ground carelessly.  
He came up to gasp for air, his eyes hooded and lustful, cheeks red and lips a tiny bit swollen and wet.  
He was fucking hot.  
“Anybody ever told you, that you’re very handsome, cowboy?”, I purred underneath him, hands sliding over his chest and belly, muscles tensing under my palms.  
He grabbed my wandering hands in one of his, holding them over my head, smirking while he leaned down, stopping right in front of my face.  
“Ain’t handsome.”, he murmured and I bit my lip, his intense gaze wandered down to watch.  
“Then you’re hot.”, I gave back and he shook his head again, pecking my lips once.  
“Ain’t hot.”  
I tried to free my hands out of his grasp, but his smirk grew even bigger.  
“Steamy?”, I tried again and he chuckled.  
“Nah.”  
Before I could comprehend what happened, he turned with me until I was sitting upright, knees either side of his hips, Arthur grinning from ear to ear underneath me.  
He sat up so we were face to face, reached for the hem of my blouse and pulled it over my head, leaving me in my fresh-washed black bra sitting on his lap.  
“How did y-“  
Arthur silenced me with a bone-breaking kiss, shutting every thought in my head down, his hands pulling me closer and getting rid of my bra in the process.  
I could feel his arousal between my legs and my body responded in kind, grinding down to find any kind of release.  
His light chest hair tickled on my tender nipples, arching for his touch.  
I pulled away slightly to catch my breath and he instantly shifted his attention on my neck, sucking, biting and licking a path down towards my breasts, my hands pulling at his hair to make him look up at me again.  
He complied instantly.  
“Haven’t we agreed on taking things slow?”, I asked breathless, torn between wanting everything and doing the apparently right thing.  
Didn’t he say something like that in the morning?  
Arthur nodded once, eyes glued to my nipples, licking his lips while doing so and then gazing up again.  
“Yeah. If ya don’t-“  
“I want to.”, I interrupted him and he caught my gaze again.  
“Ya sure?”  
“Pretty.”  
He swallowed hard, his Adams-apple bobbing up and down, eyes trailing over my body.  
“I want ya so badly, I-I cannot even-.”, he murmured on my throat, his tongue hot and wet against my skin.  
My fingers threatened through his hair and I moaned, head falling back in pure bliss.  
“I want you, too.”, was all I was able to rasp out and he growled deep in his chest in response, biting down on the sweet spot under my ear, making me gasp and shudder.  
His hands stabilized my upper-body as he bended me backwards, my breasts now right in his kissing and sucking range. He wasted no time, sucking both nubs in turns into his mouth, tongue swirling around them and biting down softly.  
I nearly lost it right then, his mouth making my blood boil and spurring on the heat inside me even further.  
“God, A-Arthur.”, I moaned, hands desperately grabbing into his short hair on the back of his head.  
He gently laid me down on the blanket again, hovering over me and kissing his way down towards my belly, his mouth leaving a hot trail of sucks and bites southwards.  
His broad shoulders spread my legs even further apart as he settled between them, his hands working my jeans open.  
I blushed hard.  
“You don’t have to-“, I interjected weakly, hands coming up to cover my face, knowing pretty well that some men just hate performing oral-sex but are just too proud to say it.  
Arthur simply ignored me and undressed me completely in one go, hands resting on the outside of my thighs.  
I was a tiny bit embarrassed and hid under the palms of my hands.  
“Hey.”  
His deep voice trailed up to me and I peeked out between two fingers at him.  
“Look at’me.”, he rasped and placed a soft kiss on the inside of my left thigh.  
I relented after a short moment, plopping myself up on my elbows to look down on him and myself, cheeks red like a fire-truck.  
It was clearly a sight so see, the outrageous handsome outlaw waiting between my legs, his back-muscles shifting in the fading sunlight, his big hands holding my thighs in place and making them look so freaking small.  
“What?”, I said nearly inaudible and he kissed the soft skin of my right thigh carefully.  
“Ya ‘re beautiful.”, he whispered, eyes honest and sincere.  
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat down, fighting against my insecurities with all my might.  
“’kay.”, I relented and he smirked, kissing the spot on my thigh again until he stopped to look up at me with a devilish grin.  
“Watch.”, he ordered and my eyes went wide, mouth hanging open in shock. I’ve never watched a man while he went down on me, that was- well, filthy, wasn’t it?  
“I- u-uh… W-what?”  
“If ya don’t, I’ll stop.”, he threatened and I gasped, cheeks growing even hotter than I ever thought possible.  
“O-okay.”  
His wicked smile vanished between my legs and he hoisted them over his shoulders, dipping down to press a single kiss on my pubic mound, making my hips jolt.  
“I kinda’ like that.”, he breathed against my smooth skin and I needed a moment until it clicked. Good thing I had a proper bath two days ago.  
“Hate bushes.”  
His low chuckle vibrated through my body.  
“Clearly.”  
Arthur held my gaze as he continued his way down deeper, his tongue dipping between my already soaked folds, making my breath hitch and body squirm under his soft lapping.  
“So wet, jus’ fer me.”, he murmured against my tender flesh and I swallowed hard.  
“Ah, jeez-“  
He took his time exploring every single inch of me, his tongue and lips all caressing and tender touches, leaving me breathless and wanting for more.  
It was hard to keep my eyes on him and also unbelievable hot at the same time, watching how he clearly enjoyed what he was doing to me, his eyes trailing up and down my body the whole time.  
The moment his tongue flicked against my clit, I let out something between a moan and a strangled sound, my legs twitching in his hold.  
I could almost feel the smirk on his lips, but it was hard to tell, because in that moment he released my left leg out of his grasp and dragged his hand to my hot core, parting the slick lips with two fingers, flicking his tongue once- twice and thrice against my wanting clit. My body jolted instantly against his face, eager to get more of the drug he provided and my head lolled back without much thought, eyes shutting in ecstasy.  
I was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling, my body a squirming and panting mess under his touch and I almost screamed in frustration when he suddenly stopped.  
“W-why?”  
I looked down at him with wild eyes and he continued again after he gave me a warning glare, lapping and sucking at this tiny and very sensitive bundle of nerves until I nearly lost it.  
“Goddamn, A-Arthur…”, I breathed low, my right hand reaching out to run through his hair and he hummed against my wet flesh.  
I could feel it bubbling up inside me, the peek I needed and wanted more than anything, right in sight.  
Just a tiny bit more.  
“O-oh, I-I; Jesus! M-more please.”, I pressed out between clenched teeth, my muscles tensing and twitching like crazy, breath loud and fast.  
Finally, he had mercy and humored me, his tongue working faster and more intense, hitting just the right spot over and over again, until the pressure inside my belly became unbearable and I exploded, screaming his name loud enough for anybody in hearing range to hear, but I didn’t care, not one bit. My fingers scraped over his head, but he didn’t seem to mind, thighs trapping his face between them while I rode out my orgasm shamelessly on his face, his tongue gently helping me to come down to earth again, softly lapping away every single drop of my cum.  
I flushed at the thought, but I was way too exhausted and happy to care about it.  
My upper-body fell back with a single thud and I let my strained muscles relax a bit, every single limb feeling like jelly and not obeying with me in that moment.  
And here I thought his hand alone performed miracles. I was so wrong.  
Arthur let my legs slide down from his shoulders when he sat up again, a satisfied smirk on his swollen lips, wiping his mouth with the backside of his hand and slowly crawling over me.  
I let out a deep breath.  
“Good God..”  
“Arthur ‘s enough, darlin’.”  
The dirty bastard grinned from ear to ear and I punched him once on his upper-arm for good measure.  
“Dumbass.”  
He chuckled, then he dipped down to kiss me and I nearly lost it again. I could taste myself on his lips and tongue and I hummed deep in my throat, a hum of approval.  
I let my hands wander over his bulged biceps, strained from holding his weight upright and he shuddered under my touch, his kiss faltering a bit when I traveled down over his chest and toned stomach towards the waistband of his jeans, fumbling with the buttons until they finally plopped open.  
He pulled back a bit to watch me, his eyes dark and sultry.  
I hesitated at first, not sure if I could touch him and also a little bit afraid to disappoint him or something like that, but he simply nodded once and dipped down again to catch my lips with his again.  
Fuck it.  
It was hard to concentrate on two things at once, but I managed to let my hand slide slowly into his pants. He sucked in a deep breath when my hand connected with his fully aroused member and I wrapped my fingers around him, my mind trying to comprehend the fact, that my fingers didn’t close all the way around him.  
Oh-oh.  
Arthur released my lips and hid his face in the crook of my neck, breath warm and harsh against my skin, his body tense and trembling above me.  
His shaft was hot, soft and also hard, my hand gliding up and down his impressive length gently, coaxing little moans and grunts out of him.  
When I sped up a little, he grabbed my wrist and pulled it out of his jeans with force, his face coming up to hover over mine.  
“Damn, sweetheart. Keep doin’ that and the fun ‘s over before it even began.”, he mumbled low, kissing me once and then sitting back on his knees to get rid of his pants.  
A smile pulled on my lips as I watched how he undressed himself, quick and efficient, not wasting any time.  
When his pants landed on the already huge pile of clothes beside us, my eyes went wide.  
Oh, shit.  
I already felt how big he was, but seeing it- damn.  
The last man I slept with wasn’t nearly as big as Arthur and that was two years ago and hurt like hell.  
I gulped, arousal and fear bubbling up at the same time.  
“Ya good?”, he rasped, eyes watching me with concern and I nodded quickly.  
“Yeah, just a little fazed maybe.”  
“Fazed?”, he asked, brows furrowed, his voice deep and husky.  
“Never mind. C’mere.”  
I wanted him, badly.  
He took my outstretched hand and crawled back up my body, crushing me under his weight, stopping once I embraced him with my legs, elbows resting beside my head, his cock carefully nudging my entrance and my hips jolted in return.  
“I’ll be careful, ‘kay?”, he breathed against my lips and I nodded once but then I froze when a thought crossed my mind.  
“Wait.”  
He did and looked down on me with one raised eyebrow.  
“Don’t you guys have condoms around here?”, I blushed while asking him, but the somehow still present and reasonable part of my brain urged me on to ask at least.  
Arthur hesitated, a blush creeping up his cheeks.  
“Ah, I don’think so.”  
I knew that this kind of protection was already invented, but I didn’t quite know if it was already available for everyone and how workable it really was.  
“I can p-pull out, ya know?”, he suggested and I couldn’t help the chuckle escaping me.  
“That’s a myth, Arthur. But that’s not the point. I can’t get pregnant, I’m just worried about, well- like illnesses or something like that.”  
He leaned down to kiss me softly.  
“I’m clean.”  
I shrugged, but kissed him back.  
“You don’t know that.”  
He sighed, looking down at me in earnest.  
“I do know. If ya really need to know; last time I had sex was over ten years ago, Sophie. I’d know by now if I was ill.”, he stated and I gaped at him in shock.  
Ten years? Well, okay then.  
I nodded, red as a beet.  
“’kay.”  
He huffed a small laugh and shook his head, dipping down to kiss me with force, his tongue coaxing my mouth open and letting me forget the things we talked about before.  
I was glad I didn’t ruin the whole moment, how dumb, really.  
His left hand grabbed my thigh hard and I moaned in response, my hips jittering upwards to catch him.  
Fuck this, I needed him.  
Agonizingly slow, he pushed inside and I gasped, his length and thickness filling me up to the point of hurting, the line between pleasure and pain blurring together.  
My nails would totally leave crescents on the skin of his back, but I couldn’t help it, I needed something to anchor myself.  
Arthur withdrew and pushed inside again, deeper, giving me time to adjust to his cock, grunting and huffing all the while.  
“Christ almighty, ya feel so fuckin’ good.”, he rasped against my ear, his breath hot and thick against my skin and I nodded like a dumbass, mind not able to process all the feelings at once.  
One last time, he pulled out again and then pushed all the way in until our pelvis’ connected, both of us groaning simultaneously at the sensation.  
“Fuck.”  
Arthur’s body shook over me, his muscles tensing and flexing under his skin and I grabbed with one hand in his hair, threading through the soft strands of it.  
He paused for a moment, giving us both the chance to adjust.  
“Ya okay?”, he whispered and I nodded.  
“Keep goin’.”  
Then he started moving, his hips snapping forward in lazy motions, driving me crazy and I moaned in response, greeting every thrust with a roll of my own and I could hear him curse lowly under his breath.  
The pain quickly subsided into pure lust, consuming every part of me and relishing under every touch.  
The sight of him, his muscles working hard to keep up with his movements, arms strong and hands grabbing at my skin, face staring down at me with glazed eyes, a soft layer of sweat already forming on his skin, made my head spin.  
Arthur’s movements sped up a little, his cock hitting a spot inside me I never felt before and I cried out, stopping his movements instantly.  
“What?”, he rasped and I groaned in frustration.  
“Don’chu dare stop, Morgan!”, I nearly yelled at him and he quickly obeyed with a low chuckle, continuing to slam more forcefully into me.  
“A-ah, jaysus’fuckin’christ.”, I breathed, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open.  
He pushed himself up a bit, his hands grabbing at my knees to change the angle slightly, hitting deeper than before and I moaned again, way too loud- but what the hell.  
He panted, chest rising and falling quickly, the veins on his arms showing off how straining it must be for him to hold back.  
“More.”, I panted and he instantly humored me with a muffled whimper, hands hoisting my legs around his hips higher and then leaning forward to keep himself upright with both of them, slamming his hips forward with force.  
The heat inside me came bubbling up again and I gasped for air, the smacking sound of our skin on skin filling my ears and spurring me on even more.  
No chance we could ever do that in camp, that’s for sure.  
I held onto his arms for dear life, my nails digging into his skin but he didn’t seem to mind.  
“A-Arthur, I-. Fuck! Harder.”  
I didn’t need to tell him twice, he could feel I was getting close, my peak only a few thrust away, hitting the spot over and over again.  
“S-Shit, Sophie! ‘M c-close.”, he rasped against my ear and I simply groaned, hands skimming over his tensed back.  
He cursed loudly, then he dipped down to bite one of my nipples and the impact of everything together made me tumble over the edge, falling deeper and deeper, landing with a spate of incoherent curses on my lips, Arthur swallowing most of them with his lips and following suit after a few erratic and faltering thrusts, spending himself deep inside me with a husky and low groan.  
I didn’t care, though.  
Arthur slumped down next to me, his softening cock sliding out with an obscenely wet sound, making me squirm a bit.  
“Goddamnit, woman.”, he murmured, our heavy breathing the only sound filling the night right now.  
Holy shit.  
I just had sex with Arthur Morgan, and it was better than I could’ve ever imagined.  
I slowly came down to earth with a smile on my lips and rolled on my side, facing Arthur still laying on his back, eyes closed and a satisfied expression on his handsome features.  
As if he had sensed my glance, he turned his head and gave me a tired smile, his arm reaching out to grab my hand in his.  
“C’mere.”, he said low and I complied, snuggling up his side, head resting on his shoulder, legs between his and arm over his stomach.  
Arthur gave me a sweet kiss on my hair, embraced my body with his arms and then sighed deeply, his chest rising and falling under my ear.  
The night was pitch black, the moon only illuminating the nature around us barley and I could hear Nugget and his mare stomping around a few feet away.  
After a few moments of comfortable silence and coming down from our high, I spoke up silently.  
“Are we going back tonight?”  
At first I thought he may had fallen asleep but he grunted in response after a short while.  
“We don’t have’ta, if ya don’t wan’to.”, he mumbled against my hair and I snuggled up closer to his body, relishing in the warmth he provided.  
“I’d like to stay here.”, I whispered back.  
Without shifting much, he reached for something above him and I sat up a bit to watch how he grabbed a blanket out of the basket he brought along, spreading it out over us to cover our nakedness up.  
Then he settled back down and I did too, nestling against him with a loud and happy sigh.  
“I hope it was as good fer ya, as it was ta me.”, he said in a hushed voice and I sat up again, looking down on him with a frown.  
“You kidding, right?”  
He shook his head, his eyes honestly concerned.  
“It has been a long time, ya know… I understand if ya don-“  
I cut him off by leaning down to press a kiss to his lips, silencing the bullshit coming out of his mouth.  
“I’m only going to say this one time, so you better listen closely, cowboy.”, I stated bluntly and a little smirk pulled on his lips.  
“Go’on.”  
I gulped and my cheeks flushed a bit, saying it out loud was something entirely different than thinking about it.  
“That was by far the best sex I’ve ever had.”, I breathed against his lips and he rewarded me with a huge lopsided grin.  
“Really?”  
“Yep. So stop whining and-“  
His hand pulled me down by my neck and he swallowed the last bit of my sentence, his tongue flickering against mine and eliciting a breathy moan out of me.  
Arthur turned us around, pinning me down underneath him, his cock hot and hard against my thigh.  
With a smirk, I looked up at him and raised one eyebrow at him, biting my lip when his hips moved delicately against my body.  
“Already up for a second round?”, I mocked him and he chuckled darkly.  
“Better make the most out of it.”, he rasped, dipping down to catch my bottom-lip with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth.  
I moaned, my body already alight and wanting more.  
“I have created a monster.”, I breathed in a mix of amusement and lust, Arthur coming up again with a wicked grin, staring down at me.  
“Yeah, ya did, darlin’.”

Needless to say, that we didn’t get much sleep that night.


	16. pancakes and confessions

“Pancakes?”  
“Yup, Pancakes.”  
“What’s that?”  
Pearson eyed me with a wary expression, hands on his hips.  
“Would you just trust me, Pearson? It’s delicious, really.”  
The camp cook gave me a long up down, eyes resting on young Jack standing beside me, giving his best puppy-eyes in that moment.  
“If they don’t like it, I promise you; I’ll never cook again.”  
Finally, he relented with a groan.  
“Fine. What do you need?”  
Jack jumped up and down in excitement, what I told him about Pancakes had made him curious and he wanted to try them badly.  
I listed up the needed ingredients and Jack helped Pearson fetch them from the wagon, the cook frowning all the time.  
“With that little you want to prepare an eatable meal?”, he asked me stunned and I nodded.  
“Watch and learn.”  
He did, although very skeptical.  
I worked quick and without much thought, explaining to Jack and Pearson how I prepared the pastry and in which steps. It wasn’t that easy without any kind of kitchen-machine at hand, but I managed somehow, my arm getting tired from all the stirring and swirling.  
It was a funny sight, both of them sitting on a chair next to the table I worked on, eyebrows risen in question and awe, at least Jack did watch in awe.  
“Do we have a pan?”, I asked him and the Pearson nodded.  
“Sure thing.”  
“Good, we need it.”  
He went to grab the huge pan, setting it on top of a small steel framework over the fire in the middle of camp.  
I let the pastry sit for a while, all of us waiting for the pan to heat up enough to cook on it.  
Jack babbled away about everything and nothing, entertaining us with little stories while we waited.  
It was around twelve o’clock and the heat was already unbearable, most of the gang sat around somewhere in the shades of their tents or some trees, some were out on jobs currently, including Arthur.  
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of him, how our last, well- night went on.  
That was four days ago and we hadn’t really had the chance to speak since then.  
As soon as we sat foot into camp, Dutch shooed Arthur on his way to sniff around the Gray’s place, Caliga Hall. And as we all know, leads him to running around for Beau and Penelope, delivering love letters and small presents, ending with him driving eager political women through Rhodes.  
I saw a glimpse of him two days ago, but Molly and Uncle interrupted our possible reunion, Uncle dragging him along with Charles, Bill and Lenny, robbing that stage and spending the night trapped in the barn.  
It was strange to know what he did when he wasn’t in camp, either way, I lost focus and needed to get back into saving folks.  
Micah wasn’t back in camp right now, but alone the thought of him reminded me of the threatening danger approaching with every passing day.  
I still hadn’t figured out a real plan yet, but I needed to get into action sooner or later.  
Arthur getting kidnapped by the O’Driscolls, Jack by the Braithwaites and Sean getting killed wasn’t going to happen on my watch, no-no.  
Yesterday morning Arthur came back to camp and I wanted nothing more to just throw my arms around him and get lost in the moment, but again, he was stopped before he could reach me and dragged away by Lenny, riding out to Shady Belle to get these damn guns.  
He cast me an apologizing glance over his shoulder when he rode out and I smiled back at him, knowing pretty well that he was one of the most important members of this gang.  
Without him, we would break down pretty quick.  
After his job with Lenny, he met up with Hosea and John, ending in the Rhodes’ Saloon playing poor Fenton.  
I woke up in the middle of the night when he came back, the jingling sounds of his spurs traveling all the way up to me. He didn’t come to my tent, though and I didn’t want to bother him, so we fell asleep apart, again.  
Right now, he was out with Micah, robbing that stage-coach and if I could, I would’ve warned him about it going south, but I didn’t even had the chance to do so. I hated the thought that Micah would be back later that day, my mood already darkening a bit. That man simply gave me the creeps.  
It was frustrating, to say at least. Very, very frustrating.  
“I think it’s ready.”  
Pearson tore me out of my daydreaming and I sat up straight, feeling the heat of the pan when I held my palm over it.  
“Right, let’s do this.”  
The first pancake was a disaster and Cain gladly accepted the miserable thing, munching it down without chewing. I wasn’t used to cook over open flames and it was more difficult than I thought it would be, but the following ones were absolutely perfect.  
I handed Jack the first eatable one, dusting it with a thin layer of sugar. Sadly, no maple sirup or chocolate-dip within sight.  
Jack eyed the pancake with wide eyes, Abigail strolling over to watch over her son with an amused smile on her lips.  
“Go on, try it.”, she encouraged him and he did with a tiny bite, his features brightening up the moment his taste buds processed the taste.  
His brown eyes went wide and he grinned from ear to ear.  
“Momma, that ‘s so tasty!”  
Abigail chuckled and reached out to get a piece for herself, but I simply handed her one for her own.  
“Here.”  
She nodded in thanks and carefully took a bite, a surprised little moan forming in her chest.  
“Wow.”  
With a huge triumphal grin, I turned towards Pearson.  
“Told ya.”  
The camp cook shook his head in amusement and placed one of the pancakes on his plate, bolting it down in record time.  
“M-hm.”  
The sweet smell and the honorable cries around camp, drew in every single member of the gang one by one, forming a line in front of the pan I was still cooking on.  
They all loved them and I couldn’t help the proud grin on my lips, feeding them something good and tasty.  
Not like the stew Pearson provided every single day.  
It was boring and nothing compared to pancakes.  
“My, my. Would you look at that, Hosea. She can even cook.”, Dutch boomed with his rich voice, tiny crystals of sugar still hanging in his mustache.  
Hosea nodded eagerly, his mouth still full with food.  
Jack was munching on his second pancake and I leaned down with a smile, patting his cheek softly.  
“Did I promised too much?”, I asked him and he shook his head.  
“No, Miss Sophie. I could eat that every single day!”  
Abigail snickered beside him, her eyes bright and full of love.  
“Don’t get greedy, little one.”  
Jack pouted. “Sorry, momma.”  
The pancakes were a huge success, the whole camp buzzing with satisfied laughter and high spirits, all of them thanking me for showing off something they didn’t knew and now loved.  
I got the feeling that it wouldn’t be last time I had to make them.  
After the huge amount of pastry was turned into pancakes, I put the rest down on the food-table, so that everyone could serve themselves if they wanted to.  
“What ‘s that?”  
The dark voice startled me and I jumped, turning around to find Arthur standing behind me, hands on his gun belt, head tilted to the side in interest.  
“Uh, hi.”  
He gave me the smallest of smiles.  
“Hi.”  
I cleared my throat, my eyes trailing up and down his body. He looked good, way too good.  
Just dress him in a white shirt and black jeans and voilà, that was enough for my poor heart.  
“You want one?”, I asked him, pointing over my shoulder towards the plate.  
He stepped closer, looking down on the table. His chest nearly touched mine and my heart picked up its pace, hammering against my ribcage.  
“Sure, why not.”, he drawled and I turned around quickly, picking up one of the pancakes, placing it on a new plate.  
Arthur took another step forward, his strong arms caging me in as he rested his hands on either side of me on the table, his chin coming down on my shoulder, chest pressed up against my back.  
I swallowed hard.  
“A-Arthur. We’re not alone, you know?”, I nearly whispered and he chuckled into my ear.  
“I know. I wanna taste.”, he rasped and I gasped in response, implying much more into his statement.  
“What?”  
He chuckled again, dark and husky.  
“That thing on the plate, Sophie. What else did ya thought I meant?”  
I huffed. “Very funny, dumbass. Here.”  
I ripped a piece of and reached up to feed him, his lips closing around my fingers and I sucked in a breath at the sensation.  
He chewed carefully, swallowing once he was finished.  
“Damn, that ‘s delicious.”, he said surprised and I grinned.  
“I know. I made it.”  
“Heard that much.”  
I turned in his arms to look up at him, I needed to tilt my head backwards to even catch his eyes. He looked tired, way too tired to even stand upright.  
“You good?”, I asked him and he snorted.  
“Splendid’.”  
His eyes lingered on mine, then he looked around us, watching if anybody was watching apparently, because a moment later, he dipped down to press a kiss on my wanting lips.  
It was only a short one, but my body buzzed with excitement about his closeness.  
“God, I missed ya.”, he murmured against my ear and I nodded in agreement.  
“Been here the whole time.”  
He chuckled humorlessly. “I know. Shit ‘s goin’ down fer real this time. So much work, it’s exhaustin’.”  
Arthur took a step back again, straightening up to his full height again, a smirk on his lips.  
“What?”, I asked confused and he smiled even wider.  
“Here.”  
He reached out to touch my cheek, sliding his fingers down and up again, when he withdrew his hand, I could see some flour on his fingertips.  
“Oh.”  
Arthur raised his hat and ruffled through his hair absently, sweat forming on his forehead and I watched him with a grin.  
God, he sure as shit was one handsome cowboy.  
“See ya later?”, he suddenly said and I crooked one eyebrow at him.  
“You asking me?”  
He raised his hands in surrender.  
“Yeah, don’I know it.”  
Tilly, Mary-Beth and Karen rounded the corner of the wagon chatting and babbling, stopping in their tracks the moment their eyes landed on Arthur and me standing a bit too close for normal conversation.  
“Look who we got here.”, Karen whistled with a devilish grin, the girls giggling like crazy.  
Quickly, Arthur took another step back.  
“That’s my cue, see ya’ll later.”  
With that, he grabbed his pancake in one hand, turned and nearly ran somewhere else, leaving me standing there like an idiot in front of the women.  
“Why, ya two had a good time?”, Karen asked me, grinning from ear to ear.  
I turned in her direction, crossing my arms over my chest.  
“No idea what you’re talking about.”, I dismissed her but she wouldn’t have it.  
“Don’chu gimme that now. Saw ya two sneakin’ out the other day, been gone the whole night, haven’t ya?”  
I turned beet red, I just couldn’t help it.  
Mary-Beth and Tilly smiled at me in earnest, Karen still watching me like a hawk.  
“He’s a good man, Sophie.”, Tilly said, patting my shoulder and Mary-Beth agreed with her.  
“Right. You could do worse than that.”  
“I-It’s- damn. It’s complicated.”, I huffed and Karen squealed.  
“I knew it. Ten bucks, ladies.”  
We all laughed at that, even though I was a bit embarrassed that they placed a bet on my behalf.  
Mary-Beth lead me towards the shore, all of us sitting down on a fallen tree, watching how the sun slowly crept over the sky.  
“Why is it complicated?”, Mary-Beth asked me once we sat comfortable and I sighed.  
“Dunno. Hard to explain.”  
Tilly huffed. “Men are complicated, tell ya that. They always say women are the difficult ones, but I just don’t see it.”  
Karen chuckled, pointing over to Sean, sitting under a tree, head lolled back against the trunk, fast asleep with his mouth hanging open.  
“I cannot agree with ya more, girl.”  
“I still don’t understand why you are sweet on him, Karen.”, Tilly said with a frown and Karen snorted.  
“Me neither.”  
Mary-Beth patted my knee slightly.  
“You can tell us if you want, but you don’t have to.”, she simply stated and the gesture melted my heart a bit.  
I smiled thankfully at her.  
“I’m just afraid, I think.”, I mumbled and she nodded in understanding.  
“Why?”  
I shrugged. “I’m not good with relationships, every man I had till now left me sooner or later. The last one dumped me for my best friend, weeks before the wedding.”  
All of them inhaled sharply and Karen scoffed.  
“What an’asshole.”  
“He didn’t deserve ya.”  
“That’s cruel!”  
I nodded, cheeks red.  
“Yeah, I know. It hurt either way. I just have the feeling, that s-something is wrong with m-me, ya know? I just mess up every freaking time.”  
My voice broke and the bottled up feelings rushed down on me, making me shiver slightly.  
“I’m just not capable of being in a long-term relationship.”  
Mary-Beth slung her arm around my shoulder and squeezed.  
“I don’t think so, Sophie. As far as I can tell, you are a wonderful human being and every man could be happy to be with you.”  
“Agreed.”  
“Amen to that.”  
I smiled weakly. “Thank you.”  
Karen nudged my shoulder and I turned my head to look at her, the green of her eyes sparkling in the sunlight.  
“How did it happen, though?”, she asked with raised eyebrows.  
“What exactly?”  
“Arthur?”  
“Oh, well. That’s a long story.”  
They giggled and I couldn’t help the dumb smile forming on my lips.  
“We got all the time in the world, honey. Grimshaw ‘s out with Herr Strauss, she won’t be back until noon.”  
I sighed. “First of all, promise me to keep it to yourself, alright?”  
Arthur and I still hadn’t talked about our “relationship-status” and if we would handle it open or not and I wasn’t found of everybody knowing right now.  
Karen held out her pinkie and all of us hooked ours together, shaking our hands three times.  
“Promise.”, they said in unison and I inhaled deeply.  
“Good, well. I think it started ways back with a little flirting here and there, nothing to scandalous, it was also hard to read, because, well, he’s just Arthur- but then he had kissed me the day I sang for ya’ll-“  
“Wait, that was weeks ago!”, Tilly interrupted and I nodded.  
“Yeah. Like I said, but we both struggled a bit at the beginning. I still do, it- uh. You all know how Arthur can be-“  
“Stubborn like a mule?”  
“Gruff and dismissive?”  
“Acting like he hasn’t got a heart?”  
I gaped at them with wide eyes, then I chuckled under my breath.  
“That’s pretty much it, yeah.”  
“So he played the hard to get?”, Tilly asked and I shook my head.  
“Nah, not exactly. It was more like; I want you, but I can’t, I’m not a good man, you know?”, I tried to imitate his deep voice and the girls rolled with laughter.  
“Damn, he really can be stupid.”  
“Such a fool.”  
“It went on like this for a while, we even ignored each other at some point but then John-“  
Karen grabbed my hand and bounced up and down on her seat.  
“Don’t tell me he’s sweet on ya too, then I get another ten bucks from Sean!”, she exclaimed and I huffed a laugh.  
“Well, actually he kinda is-“  
“Christ, I should go into town to play some poker, today seems to be my lucky-day!”  
“Good God, Karen. Let her finish.”, Tilly interjected and Karen scoffed, squeezing my hand once as an apology.  
“Sorry.”  
“Don’t mention it. Long story short; I think we’re a couple now, I guess. But it’s still fresh and new and we haven’t talked about it yet, so please, keep it to yourselves for now.”  
Mary-Beth smiled widely.  
“Sure thing, Sophie. But I still don’t get why you are afraid?”  
Tilly tilted her head and watched me with her big brown eyes.  
“Yeah, like what it is? Arthur is like hitting the jackpot.”  
“Agreed. And ’m sure he’s a goddamn helluf’a’lover in bed.”, Karen added with a smirk and I nearly choked on my own spit.  
“Karen!”, Mary-Beth chided her, but the blonde woman simply waved her off.  
“Don’t tell me ya didn’t want’ta know and that ya never thought about it. I mean- look at him.”, she pointed over her shoulder and I let my eyes follow her line of sight, freezing in my seat once I laid eyes on him.  
Arthur was currently chopping firewood facing us, shirt and hat discarded on the table behind him, his naked chest glistening with sweat in the sunlight, muscles tensing and bulging under his tanned skin with every chop he made.  
My mouth went dry.  
“Jesus.”  
“Oh, Lord.”  
“Told ya.”  
I swallowed hard.  
“He definitely delivers what he sells.”, I murmured under my breath without thinking about it, but they heard it and gasped simultaneously, then they roared with laughter, all of them red like a tomato.  
The commotion stopped his movements and made him look up at us, giving a little confused wave when he caught us staring at him.  
Even Sean woke up and shot us a baffled look, some heads turning in our direction while we laughed like maniacs.  
It felt good to chat with the girls like that, but my heart also ached, ached for my best friend at home. In that moment, I missed Elena more than anything and I would kill to see her again.  
Would I ever be able to see her again?  
Probably not and the thought dulled my good mood a little.  
Arthur caught my eyes in that moment, one eyebrow raised in question, hands propped up on the handle of the axe, a small smile on his lips.  
God, I was lucky.  
Very, very lucky.  
I shook my head and mouthed ‘later’ silently and he nodded in return, tipping his missing hat with two fingers, then he continued his work.  
“A shame he never showed interest in any of us.”, Karen giggled beside me, still watching Arthur.  
I was proud and a tiny bit jealous at the same time, that all of them eyeballed my man like a snack.  
My man, Jesus.  
Tilly nodded her head, then she snorted and spat out: “Damn that bitch Mary Linton.”  
I nearly choked again, averting my eyes from Arthur to look at her, dumbfounded.  
“Amen to that. Girl broke that poor man’s heart. If ya ever do that to him, I’m afraid I’ve to kill ya.”, Karen stated bluntly and I cleared my throat awkwardly.  
“Don’t worry, wasn’t planning on that.”  
“Good.”  
“Better be. He finally deserves some happiness.”  
Suddenly, Mary-Beth piped up next to me, still watching Arthur.  
“It makes sense now.”  
We all frowned at her.  
“What?”  
She looked at me. “A few weeks ago, maybe the last day in Horseshoe Overlook or something like that, I had an interesting conversation with Arthur which left me so confused. He talked about doing the right thing and trying to make things better and all that- now I know why. He’d talked about you, Sophie.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, I never heard him talking like that before. It was cute, should’ve know it had something to do with a girl.”, she chuckled and that dumb smile was back on my face.  
“Well-“  
“Ladies.”  
Sean apparently had strolled over to us and stood now in front of Karen, his eyes bright and like always, full of mischief.  
“Mr. MacGuire.”, I greeted him with a smile and got a huge grin in return.  
“Sean, the hell ya want?”  
“Ah, sweetheart. Jus’ wanta see ma lovel’ woman.”, he swaggered in his thick accent, prompting Karen to roll her eyes at him.  
“Ya seen me now, get lost.”  
He ignored her and instead grabbed her hands in his, pulling her up and dragging her along after him, the loud bickering following after them until they vanished between the trees on the right side of the camp.  
“We should get back to work.”, Tilly suggested and I nodded.  
“Right.”  
When I stood up, Mary-Beth took my right hand in hers, squeezing it and looked me dead in the eyes.  
“You have no need to be afraid, Sophie. I think you two are a lovely couple and if you really want it, you two will work out just fine.”  
Tilly flashed me a smile and nodded in agreement.  
“Exactly. And you can always come and speak with us, if you like. We’re family, you know?”  
I nearly began to cry and sniffled a bit.  
“Thank you, really. I needed that.”  
“Don’t we all.”, Tilly responded and grabbed my other hand, pulling me along towards the lake, where the laundry was already waiting for us. 

*  
To my surprise, they really kept to our agreement, nobody knew what was going on between Arthur and me, even a few days later.  
It was ridiculous, but I still hadn’t got the chance to speak with Arthur in private.  
Our night happened nearly a week ago and the conversation at the chuck-wagon a few days’ back was the only one we had.  
He was always on the road, robbing the bank in Valentine, rescuing Trelawny, that kind of stuff.  
I think, that we slowly but surely came closer to the point where everything went down for good.  
It was time to get a move on.  
The next few missions would be the ones with the Braithwaite-horses and nearly burning down Caliga Hall, so we got closer to Sean’s preventable death.  
I was so occupied with Jack’s swim lessons and normal lessons, that I wasn’t able to accompany Arthur or anybody else to one of the missions.  
That was good and bad at the same time, because I really wanted to go out with the boys, but- we all know that nearly every mission ends with shooting up folks and even though I was a pretty good shot, I wasn’t keen on killing human beings. That was, well, I wasn’t ready for that just now.  
Although I knew, that most of them were bad people, it just didn’t feel right.  
The water was cold and refreshing against my legs and I sighed, watching how the sun dipped slowly behind the tree line of the island ways back in the lake.  
Who would’ve thought that it would be that exhausting to save a gang from its downfall?  
Footsteps approaching on the dock made me turn my head and I froze at the sight behind me.  
“Hey.”  
Great, exactly what I needed right now.  
“What you want, John?”  
He snorted, probably offended by my harsh words but didn’t get the hint and sat down beside me with a grunt, cross-legged to avoid the water.  
“Jus’ wanted to talk to’ya.”, he rasped and I huffed.  
“About what?”  
He let out a sigh and I swear, even that little sound sounded raspy. How did he managed that?  
“Look, ‘m sorry.”  
Surprised and taken aback, I turned my head to look him in the eyes.  
“What?”  
John visibly squirmed under my gaze and shrugged.  
“I shouldn’t have kissed ya the way I did. So, ‘m sorry, really.”  
For a moment, we sat in silence, both of us observing the other one carefully.  
“Really?”  
“Yeah. I jus’ thought it would safe our asses back then, but it was dumb and rash, I get that now.”, he said and I nodded my head, surveying his handsome features.  
His scars were completely healed, just some white lining on his cheek.  
“Okay, thank you.”  
He chuckled, his hands fumbling around in his lap.  
“I should’ve taken ya on a date first.”, he rasped, a smile on his lips.  
I frowned. “Well, about that-“  
“’bout what?”  
“The date.”  
He looked at me with raised eyebrows.  
“What ‘bout it?”  
I hesitated. “E-hm. I, well- I think it’s not a good idea.”  
“Why?”  
“Ah, you know. Abigail, Jack, folks talking about it, I’m just not keen on-“  
“Wait- what ya talkin’ ‘bout?”  
I sighed, deep.  
“Look, John. I just don’t think it’s a-“  
He interrupted me again and I shot him an angry glance at that.  
“Why? I don’t get’it. Last time we talked, ya were into it.”  
“Jeez, fine. There is someone.”, I said hesitantly and John gaped at me.  
“What?”  
“Yeah. Like, I met someone.”  
He turned his upper-body in my direction, a disbelieving look on his face.  
“Who?”  
I waved him off.  
“Doesn’t matter.”  
He snorted.  
“Like hell it does. Javier? Charles?”  
I shook my head in return.  
“No, John.”  
“The O’Driscoll?”  
“No-o.”  
“Jesus, don’t tell me it’s Bill or Micah.”  
“Are you fucking kidding me? Eugh; no!”  
Funny, how he didn’t caught on the obvious choice, at least in my opinion.  
“Who is it then?”  
“Who said it was a man, John?”  
The look on his face was pure gold and I couldn’t help the chuckle escaping me while I watched him gaping at me.  
“I’m just messing with you.”  
He exhaled loudly and shook his head with a shocked laugh.  
“Christ, woman. Ya got me good with that.”  
“It doesn’t matter who, John. The point is, I don’t wanna hurt him, so I need to cancel our date.”, I said in earnest, John watching me the whole time.  
“I see. What about our arrangement?”  
I shrugged and gave him a smile.  
“Up to you. I’m open for swimming-lessons.”  
“We’ll see ‘bout that.”, he grinned at me, teeth wide an even.  
After a few minutes of silence, I turned my head to look at him.  
“You know, I think Jack enjoys your help with teaching him, we should continue with that.”  
At first, he didn’t say anything, his eyes lingering on the water.  
“I do, too. So, yeah, I’guess.”  
His voice was hoarse and quiet.  
“Good.”  
Again, we sat in comfortable silence, both of us taking in the breathtaking view over the lake.  
“Maybe you should try and make things right with Abigail, John. You have a family, you have a son and you have a wife-“  
“We ain’t ma-“  
“Even though you are not married, John. She still loves you.”  
“Nah, I don’t think so.”  
“I do. And I’m not blind, you know.”  
He shrugged, head low.  
“I think it’s too late, Kendall. She won’t have me.”  
I nudged his shoulder with mine.  
“You don’t know that, not until you tried, Marston.”  
He gave me a long glance, eyes dark and glistening in the fading sunlight.  
“Whoever has yar heart right now, ‘s one lucky bastard, Sophie.”  
I blushed a tiny bit, a smile forming on my lips.  
“Oh, how sweet of you John, thank you.”  
“I mean-“  
“Sophie?”  
I looked over my shoulder, watching how Arthur stepped out the space between his and Dutch’s tent, eyes searching around for me.  
When he found me, he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes narrowing the moment he saw John sitting beside me.  
Uh-uh.  
“Catch you later, John.”, I said rapidly, getting up quickly to walk towards the blonde outlaw still standing where he stopped, a deep frown on his face.  
“Hi.”, I greeted him sweetly, halting in front of him.  
His eyes lingered a moment too long on John’s form still sitting on the dock, watching us with interest, until they shifted to mine, hard and cold.  
“What was that ‘bout?”, he asked and I shrugged.  
“We just had a talk, about Abigail and Jack.”  
Arthur huffed. “’kay.”  
With a playful smile, I nudged his arm.  
“And, I told him I couldn’t go on a date with him.”  
His face lit up a bit, just a bit.  
“Ya did?”  
“H-hm. Told him there is someone else, someone constantly on my mind.”  
The right corner of his mouth twitched with the effort to hold back a smile.  
“Really?”  
“H-hm. He wanted to know who, but we haven’t talked about it yet, so I told him-“  
Arthur cut me off quickly, he dipped down to press a soft kiss to my lips, taking me by surprise.  
His strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to his body and I gasped, my mind not able to comprehend the following consequences of his action.  
Well, the cat was out of the sack now, I guess.  
I could feel him smile against my lips, pulling back slightly to look down on me.  
“Why?”, I breathed, still shocked and he tilted his head to the side, eyes flickering for a brief moment to John, who saw everything and sat on the dock with wide eyes, until they returned to mine.  
Instead of an answer, he kissed me again, more urgently, parting my lips with his tongue and sliding inside, playing with mine in an arousing rhythm, one hand coming up the cup my cheek.  
I melted against him, hands grabbing on the backside of his shirt desperately, my heart racing in my chest.  
After what felt like hours, he finally released my lips, but still held my body close, dropping his forehead against mine, both of us panting.  
“They will all know in a few minutes, you know that, don’chu?”, I breathed out and he chuckled lowly.  
“’m done with hiding, darlin’.”  
“Fine by me.”  
With a smile, he leaned forward again and I closed the distance between us, making out like teenagers behind his wagon. 

*  
Later that same evening, I sat on one of the logs around the campfire, enjoying Javier’s guitar play and singing, Sadie and Mary-Beth flanking my side and chatting about everything and nothing.  
So far, nobody had made a comment about Arthur me, John simply flashed me a huge grin every time I laid eyes on him.  
The night was star-bright and the temperature was for once pleasant, the whole camp gathering around the fire, eating, drinking and some already singing along.  
Micah sat on the opposite side of me, I could feel his dirty eyes on me more than once and it gave me an uneasy feeling every freaking time.  
I tried to ignore him, but it was hard and began to irritate me.  
“That man gives me the creeps.”, Mary-Beth said to my left in a whisper and I chuckled under my breath, surprised by her statement.  
“He sure does. Dirty son of a-“, Sadie flared up but was interrupted by a dark voice behind us.  
“Ladies.”  
We looked up and I smiled like a dumbass.  
“Arthur.”  
“Mr. Morgan.”  
His eyes flickered to mine, then he addressed Mary-Beth.  
“Mind if I steal yar seat, Miss Gaskill?”, he asked her and she giggled, instantly standing to her feet.  
“Not at all, Mr. Morgan. Not at all.”  
She flashed me a huge grin and sat down next to Sadie.  
Arthur sat down beside me, handing me a bottle of beer while sitting down and I nodded in thanks, taking a few long swigs out the bottle.  
“Everythin’ alright?”, he asked me, leaning a bit to the side so I could understand him properly.  
I nodded. “Sure. And you?”  
The brim of his hat shielded his eyes from my view, but I could still see his lips, pulling into a smile.  
“Right now, yeah.”  
“Did someone asked you about us?”, I breathed in his direction and he shook his head.  
“Nah. Seems like Marston kept his mouth shut for once.”  
“Unbelievable.”  
“Indeed.”  
“Miss Sophie!”  
I turned to watch how little Jack waddled in my direction, stopping in front of me with a grin.  
“Hey, there Jack. What’s up?”  
He pointed towards Javier and his guitar.  
“Could you sing for me? Please?”  
Ah, damn these puppy-eyes.  
“Sure, if Javier is okay with it.”, I heard myself say and the Spanish simply chuckled, handing me his beloved instrument over.  
“Always, princesa.”  
Arthur let out a quiet warning growl and I nudged his shoulder playfully, my inner-me cheering at the gesture.  
“C’mere.”, Arthur said to Jack and the small boy happily complied, climbing up into Arthur’s lap, leaning back against his broad chest and watching me while I strummed a few testing chords.  
I mulled for a moment which song I should play and then I decided for a classic, at least in my time.  
My fingers played on auto-pilot and I lost myself in the sweet sound of the music, homesickness sickening into every pore of my body. 

_“When you try your best but you don't succeed.  
When you get what you want but not what you need.  
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep.  
Stuck in reverse.”_

The camp was quiet, the only sound coming from me and the guitar. All of them listening closely, heads tilted, feet stomping, some even swaying from side to side.  
I cast a glance at Jack and he watched me with awe, his cute face full of happiness. 

_“When the tears come streaming down your face.  
'Cause you lose something you can't replace.  
When you love someone but it goes to waste.  
Could it be worse?”_

I concentrated back on the chords, my heart swelling with love for the music I made. Music was always the best way to get me back to earth, it helped me through so much and it always lifted my mood instantly. 

_“Lights will guide you home.  
And ignite your bones.  
And I will try to fix you.”_

While singing the last sentence, I looked at Arthur, his eyes wide and full of something I couldn’t quite place. A dumb smile forming on his lips as he watched me, cradling Jack even more into his arms.  
I averted my eyes again and sang until the last note faded into the night, leaving me with a warm feeling in my chest.  
Damn, I missed this.  
Applause erupted around me and I sucked in a deep breath, smiling around.  
“That was good, Miss Sophie.”, Jack exclaimed happily in Arthur’s arms.  
“Thank you, little one.”  
A pat on the shoulder made me turn my head, gazing up into Hosea’s eyes.  
“Wonderful, my dear.”  
I thanked him and he smiled widely, patting my shoulder once more before he went to sit down on one of the logs on our right side.  
I stood to hand Javier his instrument back and he looked up at me with a huge grin.  
“Maybe ya could show me some new songs, if yar up for it, mi corazon.”, he said, holding the guitar in place between us.  
I nodded my head.  
“Sure thing.”  
“Great.”  
Jack said his good-nights as I sat down next to Arthur again and Abigail guided him to their tent, putting the little one to sleep.  
Things went back to normal again, Javier picked up a new tune and Uncle was the first one to sing along, loud and drunk of course.  
Arthur handed me my beer back and I chunked it down in one go, prompting the outlaw to huff a laugh beside me.  
“Impressive.”  
A gave him a goofy smile.  
“Thanks.”  
He leaned in, near my ear and I his scent engulfed me, making my heart jump in my chest.  
“That song was wonderful.”, he rasped, his breath fanning over my outer ear and I shuddered a bit.  
“You like it then?”  
“Love it.”  
I turned my head so the side, so I could look at him properly, our faces just inches apart. He started to lean in and I did too, totally losing myself in the blue-green of his eyes, until Sean’s loud voice tore us apart.  
“I wanna play a drinkin’ game, ya fools!”, he shouted and we both snapped our heads in his direction, the moment gone.  
“I’m in!”  
“Me, too.”  
“What game?”  
“Sophie?”  
I watched Sean carefully.  
“Yes?”  
“Ya know a good drinkin’ game? All’of the’ones ‘round here ‘re borin’ as’hell.”  
I chuckled.  
“Well, I know one, yes.”  
“Bloody hell, yes. Enlighten us, please!”  
I let my eyes trail over the curious faces around me and I got tingly with excitement.  
“It’s called ‘never-have-I-ever’ and it’s one hell of a game, so buckle up folks and get yourself something to drink.”


	17. never have I ever

Oh boy, Arthur could already see where this whole thing would lead them.  
Spilling their guts and sharing nasty secrets, great.  
“I don’ get’it.”  
Sean groaned in annoyance, the red-haired Irish rolling his eyes in a show off.  
“Jaysus, Bill. It isn’t that hard, ya fool.”  
“Well, I wanna play it right, so-“  
Sophie raised her hands in a reconciling way, stopping their fight before it could even escalate.  
“To make things clear, I give you an example, let’s see.”, she thought for a moment, Arthur casting a glance in her direction.  
Damn, she sure as shit was beautiful.  
The flickering firelight danced over her soft features, eyes nearly glowing red from the fire.  
“I say; I have never robbed a stage coach. So, every one of you who had robbed one, needs a drink. You get it now, Bill?”  
Bill frowned, but the others nodded in understanding.  
Arthur let his eyes wander over the people sitting around, nearly the whole camp was seated around the fire, all of them eager to play this new game that Sophie had suggested.  
Only Strauss, Trelawny and the Reverend missed the fun, they were seated at their tent alone, drinking themselves into misery, probably babbling nonsense about God knows what.  
And Jack of course, already fast asleep in his and Abigail’s tent, the latter sitting beside John with a deep frown on her face.  
Even Molly sat beside Dutch, not very happy it seemed, but she was present at least.  
“But that doesn’t make any sense.”, Bill piped up beside Sean and got an elbow in his ribs in return to his statement.  
“Ow, MacGuire, the hell?!”  
“Would ya jus’ stop bein’ a dick for once, Williamson. Jus’ play alon’ ya fool.”, Sean bit back and Bill grumbled something under his breath.  
“Could we please start now? Bill will get it sooner or later.”, Karen interrupted and the others mumbled in agreement.  
“Fine. Somebody wants to go first?”, Sophie asked next to him and Arthur bumped against her arm by accident, as he reached down for his beer, the spot where they touched tingling afterwards.  
Karen raised her arm.  
“I’ll do it.”  
“Everybody has somethin’ to drink?”, Javier asked loudly and they nodded, all eyes on Karen.  
The blonde woman smirked slyly, then she addressed Sophie again with raised eyebrows.  
“Any kind of questions allowed?”  
“Well, it’s not exactly a question, but yeah. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.”  
Arthur exhaled a deep breath, that could only lead down a dirty path, a very- very dirty path.  
Sophie chuckled softly next to him, sensing his discomfort immediately.  
He leaned a bit to the side, whispering in her ear: “Ya know what ya did there, aren’t ya?”  
She turned her head to look at him, eyes wide in fake innocence.  
“No idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Morgan.”  
He shook his head slightly, grinning as he shifted his attention back on Karen. That could turn into a very interesting night.  
“I have never kissed someone the same sex.”, Karen stated, her grin wide as she took a long sip from her bottle.  
Most of the men huffed a shocked laugh, watching in pure disbelief how Mary-Beth, Tilly, Molly, Abigail and to Arthur’s surprise, even Sophie lifted their bottles to their lips.  
“What?”, he rasped beside her and Sophie nearly chocked on her beer.  
“Been to college, Morgan. It’s a funny place, tell ya that.”, she chuckled.  
“Can’t wait to hear that one.”  
She had kissed a woman, unbelievable.  
Karen snorted in Bill’s direction, the big outlaw groaned ashamed as she pointed a finger at him.  
“No lying, old man. Drink!”  
Arthur and some of the others laughed at that, wasn’t really a secret that Bill wasn’t that fond of woman, though.  
Reluctantly, Bill gave in a took a quick sip, Karen and the girls hollering at the sight.  
“There ya go, big boy. Ain’t no need in hidin’ now.”, Micah sneered, Bill shot him an angry glance, but kept quiet.  
Sophie watched the whole thing with wide eyes.  
“You knew that?”  
Arthur nodded.  
“Kinda.”  
“Epic.”  
“Who’s next?”  
“Doesn’t matter. You can choose anybody you like, Karen.”  
Karen wiggled with her eyebrows, gaze landing on Sean.  
“Yar turn, MacGuire.”  
Sean stood, bowing and chuckling like a teenager, Arthur already tensing in advance to his question.  
“Well, I need a’moment ta thin- grand. Now, ya ready folks? I h-have never had’a crush on someone sittin’ around that fire right’now.”, he exclaimed with a huge grin, sipping on his beer afterwards.  
Arthur groaned, but took a sip, watching Sophie doing the same with a small smile on her lips, eyes locked on each other.  
Laughter erupted around the fire, nearly all of them drinking, apart from Pearson, Bill, Micah, Uncle, Hosea, Charles and Sadie.  
Hosea chuckled beside Dutch, nudging the younger man’s shoulder.  
“We should play that game more often; we could learn a thing or two.”  
Dutch nodded in agreement, his moustache crinkling as he laughed.  
“Indeed, Hosea. Indeed.”  
Sean pointed at Lenny.  
“Yar turn, Summers.”  
Lenny was already pretty drunk, swaying slightly as he stood up.  
“I have never been drunk to the point, that I couldn’t recall how I ended up in jail.”, he managed to rasp out between fits of laughter, toasting in Arthur’s direction after he was finished.  
“LENNAY!”, Arthur roared back, then took a long sip, laughing hard at the memory, Sophie chuckling beside him as well.  
The darker man turned, nearly falling over his feet, then he asked Sadie to continue.  
The blonde woman huffed, chin in her hand.  
“Well, I have never had a scar for some dumb reason.”, she stated, Sophie instantly bumping into Arthur’s shoulder with a laugh.  
“Drink, cowboy.”  
“Goddamn. ‘M never tellin’ ya anythin’ ever again.”, he rasped in amusement, but relented and took a sip.  
Sadie handed the scepter over to Tilly.  
“I have never dreamed of another life.”, she said quietly, sipping on her beer.  
Most of the members took a sip, all of them quiet and the mood slightly darker than before. Even Arthur took a sip; he couldn’t deny it. Dreamed a lot with Mary back in the days, long time ago now, but he did and he had wanted it, with her.  
But now.  
Hell, what did he know?  
His gaze drifted to Sophie and she caught him, a sad smile pulling on her lips, like she knew exactly what he was thinking about.  
Kieran lighted the mood a little.  
“I h-have never been thrown off a horse, I-I thought I could h-handle.”, he stammered and Dutch boomed with laughter, toasting in Arthur’s direction.  
“Drink up, son. I still remember when you tried to ride The Count.”  
Arthur waved him off, a smirk on his lips.  
“Ya wish.”  
Abigail was next.  
“I have never been the reason for a job going south.”  
Hosea chuckled loudly, pointing at John.  
“Better drink, John.”  
John frowned.  
“What ya talkin’ about?”  
“Do I need to remind you of the job down in-, what was that town called?”  
Dutch helped him out.  
“Blue Water or something like that.”  
“Right that one.”  
Realization flickered over John’s face and he quickly raised the bottle to his lips, the older gentlemen around the fire laughing on his behalf.  
Some of the others drank too, including Arthur.  
Mistakes were made at some point.  
Mary-Beth was next, her cheeks heating up slightly and her eyes flickering over Kieran as she mulled hard over what to ask.  
“I- uh. I have never been sweet on someone in this camp.”, she nearly whispered, hesitantly nipping on her drink.  
Sean wanted to pipe up in protest beside Karen, that question similar to his, but she quickly shushed him with a hand on his mouth.  
Kieran gaped at the young woman with wide eyes, mouth hanging open in surprise, cheeks red like Arthur had never seen it before and he chuckled into his bottle, amused that the O’Driscoll apparently was that blind. Nearly everybody knew, that Mary-Beth was kinda sweet on him and he was too, no need to deny that.  
Lenny bumped Kierans shoulder, pointing at the bottle in his hands.  
“Drink, O’Driscoll.”  
Kieran did as he was told, eyes still on Mary-Beth, who giggled with Tilly.  
They continued on for a while, the questions got darker and dirtier with every passing minute, Arthur now aware of a lot of things he didn’t really needed to know, threesomes, sex in strange places and other secrets that surely weren’t meant to be in the open, but they were now and he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.  
His mind was also occupied with the woman sitting next to him, her body now closer than before, touching with every movement they made.  
He could even smell her, vanilla, cookies, something like that and it made his heart flutter.  
If he was honest, his mind was constantly occupied with her, at least for the last few weeks.  
He just couldn’t get her out of it.  
John’s raspy voice draw him back to the present and he raised his head to look at his brother, mischief clear as a day written all over his features.  
_Oh no. _  
“I have never had a secret relationship in camp.”, John said in this husky voice of his, eyes darting between Sophie and Arthur.  
_Here we go._  
“John.”, Abigail warned from the side, but he ignored her, gaze still fixated on them.  
“Ya serious?”, Arthur snapped back, the knuckles on his fingers white from holding the bottle tighter then he probably should.  
John simply snickered, lifting one eyebrow at him.  
“Damn serious. No lying, ya heard Karen.”  
“Right!”, Karen interjected, also a smirk on her lips.  
_Jesus fucking Christ._  
Most of the members were confused, not entirely sure what was going on right now, their whispers filling the mostly silent night, some smiled widely, already knowing what would come.  
“Well-“, Dutch’s voice echoed from their right. “Susan, I think we should drink, shouldn’t we, my dear?”  
Susan grew beet red, but raised her glass to his.  
“Right. Long time ago now, Dutch.”  
Hosea huffed a small laugh, while Molly stoop up abruptly without saying a word, turning on her heels to vanish into Dutch’s tent, her red hair waving behind her like a curtain made of fire.  
“I think you’re now walking on dry land, my friend.”, Hosea stated bluntly, Dutch patting his shoulder with a loud laugh.  
“Don’t I know it.”  
A few chuckles were heard here and there, then John’s voice piped up again.  
“Nobody apart from them? Really?”  
He watched them like a hawk and Arthur snorted.  
“Ya reall’ wanna go down there, boy?”, he threatened, his voice darker than before.  
John nodded eagerly, the smirk growing.  
“Oh, yes.”  
“Ya’re a dirty son’of’a’bi-“  
Out of the blue, Sophie made a sound between a laugh and a snort, pressing a; “Fuck it.”, out in between, raising her bottle to take a long sip, eyes on John in a mix of anger and amusement.  
The girls in front of them cheered, clapping their hands in delight. Arthur wasn’t quite sure why exactly, but he didn’t really want to either.  
“What the hell.”, he rumbled, calling defeat as he took a sip, watching Sophie out of the corner of his eyes, the smile she shot him made its way right through his body and warmed him up in record time.  
Fuck this hide and seek, he was tired of it.  
In one swift motion, he turned his upper-body, grabbed the back of Sophie’s neck and pulled her to him, closing the short distance between them in a rush, dipping down to kiss her soft lips.  
Camp fell completely silent around them for a moment, then it went crazy, shocked laughter mixed up with clapping and encouraging cries, someone patted his shoulder while Sophie simply melted under his lips.  
Her hands came up to cup his face and she kissed him back with everything she had, their kiss maybe a bit too hot for prying eyes, but what the hell- they had asked for it.  
Arthur withdrew, ignoring the whoops and hollers around him and looked Sophie in the eyes, arching one eyebrow in question. She simply nodded in approval, biting her bottom-lip in the process and a low growl escaped his throat.  
“I knew it.”  
“Goddamn.”  
“The hell-?”  
“Why didn’t I knew that?”  
“Congrats, my friend.”  
“Finally.”, Hosea patted his back and Arthur turned to look up at his father figure, the older outlaw smiling down on him. “You deserve it, son.”  
“Thank ya, old man.”, he playfully gave back and earned a smack on the head.  
“Ow.”  
“’M not that old, boy.”  
Arthur cast a glance around, whole camp was buzzing with the news, the only one appearing not that happy, was Dutch. He sat still in shock, eyes wide and mouth open. Hosea nudged his shoulder and he came back to reality quickly, shaking his head, he stood and raised his hands, stopping the chatting around him immediately.  
“Friends, I never thought this day would come anytime soon, but- here we are. Let’s get this party going!”, his rich voice trailed over the camp-ground, cheers and laughter following suit.  
Javier grabbed his guitar and picked up a fast tune, Uncle and the others singing along instantly.  
“Well, that’s one way to announce it.”, Sophie whispered beside him and he looked down on her with a smile, his left arm reached out to hug her close to his body and she snuggled up his side, kissing his lips once more.  
“Ya okay with that?”, he asked against her mouth and she nodded.  
“Sure. Could’ve been more subtle, but well- I ain’t complaining, cowboy.”, she added with a smirk and he pinched her upper-arm once for good measure.  
“Subtle ain’t my style, darlin’.”  
“Oh, I know.”  
“Arthur?”  
They looked up, Dutch standing a few feet in front of them, a strange expression on his face.  
“Yes, Dutch?”  
The leader nodded his head towards the lake.  
“May I have a word with you, son?”  
Arthur hesitated, he would rather sit here with his woman in his arms, but the look Dutch gave him made him change his mind quickly.  
“Sure.”

*

Confusion.  
That what he got out of the conversation with Dutch.  
Total confusion.  
He talked about loyalty, faith and all that nonsense he did every day, his words sounding fancy and promising.  
But, why?  
Arthur didn’t get it.  
And Dutch didn’t really clarify it either.  
But he had his suspicions, that whole talk was about Sophie, even if Dutch hadn’t mentioned her once.  
He talked about distractions, and keeping his head clear, focusing on the gang, on more money, one last job and so on.  
He was tired of it.  
Arthur remembered the last time he had one of these talks with Dutch, that was when he told him he wanted to marry Mary.  
Long time ago now.  
He watched how Dutch’s back disappeared in his tent, then he turned around again, nearly tripping over some stones while he made his way over to the stone he claimed for his own, sitting down against it with a low grunt.  
“I need a fuckin’ break.”, he mumbled to himself lowly.  
Great. Dutch had darkened his mood without much effort.  
Arthur watched out over the lake, how the water splashed nearly quietly over the sand, how the moon illuminated nature in stunning shades of black and white, how the stars shone brightly on the pitch-black sky.  
With another deep sigh, he grabbed his hat, discarded it on the ground beside him and let his head fall back against the stone.  
Twenty years, he ran with Dutch since then, twenty fucking years and the man still doubted him from time to time.  
He couldn’t wrap his head around it, he didn’t quite know what he did wrong.  
Nothing meant more to him than this gang, these people, all them folk he cared about, still; Dutch doubted his loyalty the moment he did something just for himself.  
Sure, he fell hard the last two times, first Mary, then Eliza. Maybe Dutch was just worried about him, but this time, well, this time was entirely different, he could feel it.  
Sophie was nothing like Mary, not one bit.  
She never tried to change him, she never used him, she saw him the way he really was and he liked that, he liked that a lot.  
He could see now what a fool he had been, all them years running and pinning after a woman that left him for another man, because her daddy wanted her to and he wouldn’t change.  
Ridiculous.  
Pathetic.  
Sophie somehow always saw the good in him, reminded him of things he long had forgotten and denied himself for so fucking long.  
The sand was still warm against his hands as he grabbed a handful with his left and slowly let it flow out between his fingers, watching how the tiny grains settled back with the others on the ground.  
Without much thought, a smile pulled on his lips, remembering the previous hours.  
Well, they were in the open now. No need to hide anymore and it felt good, he had wanted that badly.  
Maybe this was his chance; his chance to become happy, to get the life he’d always wanted, something more to live for, instead of killing, robbing and following orders every single day.  
Hell, he didn’t deserve it though, that much ne knew, but why not enjoying it as long as it lasts.  
“Ya okay?”  
Arthur let out an annoyed groan without looking up, that raspy voice revealing it’s owner immediately.  
“Sure.”  
John shuffled a bit, slowly sitting down beside his brother, elbows resting on his knees, hand fumbling with a stick he apparently had found somewhere on the way down here.  
They sat in silence, both of them not knowing what exactly to say.  
“Look, ‘m sorry.”, John whispered into the night, his face coming up to catch Arthur’s questioning gaze.  
“Fer what?”  
“Well, first of all; that I kissed her.”  
Arthur scoffed, but said nothing more, so John continued: “And that I exposed ya two the way I did back there.”  
The younger outlaw pointed over his shoulder with the stick and Arthur huffed out a defeated huff.  
“’s okay. Was overdue anyway.”  
There was silence again, then a quiet snort.  
“So, ya really mean it?”  
Arthur turned his head, watching John with a baffled expression.  
“Nah, ‘m only playin’ ‘round like a teen, John. It’s jus’ fer fun, ya know? ‘m not really the kind for somethin’ serious-“  
John stopped him with a humorless laugh.  
“Jesus, Arthur. I get’it.”  
“Then quit askin’ dumb questions, boy.”, he grumbled back, raising his hands in an irritated gesture.  
“’m jus’ curious. Never thought I’d see ya like that again.”, he responded, his voice quieter and Arthur arched one eyebrow at him.  
“Like what?”  
“Soft, infatuated, a rambling mess around her, somethin’ like that.”  
Arthur huffed in refuse.  
“’m no such thing, Marston.”  
“Ya sure are, Morgan.”  
“Nah-“  
“Accept it, old man. Ya’re more than sweet on her and hey- that’s okay. We’ve all been there. Would’ve been nice ya would’ve told me though, maybe I wouldn’t have made such a fool of myself then back in Rhodes.”, he rasped, a smirk on his lips and Arthur jabbed his shoulder with his fist.  
“Shut up, dumbass.”  
They chuckled in unison, both eyes wandering over the stunning lake.  
He had missed these conversations with him. They were close for so long, a shame it wasn’t like that anymore and Arthur knew, that it was his fault, course he knew that, but he just struggled with forgiving the younger man everything he did in the past.  
Maybe it was time to work on that topic either.  
“Ya’re lucky, Morgan. She’s a hell’of’a’woman.”, John said in earnest after a few moments, Arthur casting him a glance out of the corner of his eyes.  
“Is that so?”  
“She’s different, I dunno- why, but with her everythin’ is so fuckin’ easy.”  
Now he had Arthur’s full attention and he shifted, turning his body in his direction.  
“What ya mean?”  
John shrugged, eyes darting down to observe this seemingly very interesting stick again.  
“Dunno. She’s easy to talk to, she’s fun, she doesn’t take any bullshit from anyone, she’s tough and she sure as shit sets yar head straight, if ya ready for it or not.”  
The last part made Arthur laugh and he shook his head over the younger outlaw.  
“Ya’re have a point there.”  
John sighed.  
“She’s not like the rest. That’s all ‘m tryin’ ta say.”  
Arthur tilted his head, surveying how sad his brother looked in that moment.  
“I know.”  
He patted his shoulder once and John looked up at him with a small smile.  
“Keep her, Morgan. She may be the one.”  
Arthur nearly choked on his own spit, but bit his tongue to keep the sound down, only nodding slightly.  
“Tryin’ to.”  
“Hell, if ya fuck it up, I’ll take her an-“  
A loud smack on his head hushed the blunt man instantly, eliciting a grumbled; “Ow”, out of him too and Arthur half joked, half threatened him.  
“If ya ever touch her again, I’ll kill ya, Marston. I mean it.”  
“Goddamn, I know. Christ, was only kiddin’.”  
“Better be.”  
“John?”  
They both tilted their heads to look at the woman standing a few feet away, watching how she slowly came closer near the shoreline.  
John huffed quietly and Arthur patted his shoulder again, squeezing slightly.  
“Maybe ya should try and make things right with her.”, he grumbled and John shrugged his hand off, standing to his feet in a rush.  
“Ya sound like Sophie, Morgan. That’s- well. Irritating.”  
He chuckled at that.  
“Ya’re only jealous, Marston.”  
“Ya wish.”  
Abigail strolled over, stopping close to the father of her child, her kind eyes landing on Arthur, still seated in front of the stone.  
She smiled down at him.  
“Congratulations, Arthur. I wish you two the best, you deserve it.”  
He blushed a bit, waving her off with a dismissive wave of one hand.  
Why does everyone kept saying that?  
“Thank ya.”  
“And here you were trying to convince me, that there’s nothing going between the two of you. You’re such a bad liar, Arthur.”  
“Nah, ‘m so-“  
“’bout time that old fool got laid again, ya’re even grumpier-“  
That was the second smack on the head for John in a few minutes, and he reached out to palm on the back of his head, gaping at Abigail with wide eyes.  
“Ow!”  
“You are such an asshole, John Marston! Get yourself together for once, Jesus.”  
With that, she turned on her heels, John nearly leaping after her and Arthur leant back with a chuckle again, the loud bickering of the young parents slowly fading into the night, clearing the way for nothing but silence.  
Finally, silence.  
He sat like that for a while, from time to time he could hear Uncle’s loud singing or laughter wavering down the beach, but apart from that it was quiet.  
John was right.  
He hated to admit that, but he was.  
Sophie was different, she was like no woman he had ever met before. And yeah, she was also stubborn and bossy as hell, sometimes even close to annoy the crap out of him, but well- that was fine with him.  
And sure, he was still afraid. Afraid to fall down hard again, to lose again, to let her get close to him.  
But to hell with this.  
No sense in living like a priest for the rest of his life, like, a real priest, not a priest like Swanson.  
With a loud groan, he stood, snatched his hat from the ground and quickly went back to camp, searching for brown hair and grey eyes around the campfire, to little avail.  
“She already went to bed, Arthur.”, Sadie piped up to his right, slightly amused.  
“Thanks.”  
Without looking back, he turned again, heading towards the little tent sitting on the small hill to the right of his wagon, stopping in front of it.  
“Sophie?”, he called out and he could hear rustling inside, until one of the flaps opened up, revealing Sophie sitting on her knees, in his dark-red shirt.  
“Hi.”  
“Hey. Can I come in?”  
She hesitated, but relented and shuffled back, trying to make as much space for him as possible. Not that there was any, though. Her tent was a close fit for two people and Arthur discarded his boots outside, gun-belt, hat and satchel in one of the corners, until he sat down in front of her, letting the flap fall closed behind him.  
His head nearly touched the ceiling and the thought amused him.  
“Ya’re tent is way too small, darlin’.”  
She shrugged with a smile.  
“I know. Glad I have it, though.”  
“Agreed.”  
There was only a single bedroll sitting on the ground, with two blankets and a pillow, where they were currently sitting on, a crate sat on the left side, three candles and a few things scattered over it and a small chest on the right held the few clothing she had and that was about it.  
“You alright?”, she asked him and he returned his eyes to her, drinking in the sight of her.  
Even with messy hair, ruffled from sleep he guessed and only in his shirt, she was stunning.  
“Yeah. Had an interesting conversation with Dutch.”, he stated lamely and she arched one eyebrow at him.  
“You did?”  
“M-hm.”  
“Anything fun?”  
“Nah.”  
Sophie chuckled, shuffling a bit closer, so that her knees touched his.  
“The way you tell that, Arthur. Feels like I’ve been there.”, she mocked him and he needed a moment, then it clicked.  
“Shut it, woman.”, he playfully gave back and her smile grew into smirk, a conspiratorially one.  
“Make me.”  
Ah, Christ.  
Without a second to waste, he was on her, pinning her underneath him on the mattress with force, her legs encircled his waist and he crushed her under his weight.  
Elbows resting on either side of her head, hands tangled in her hair, she stared up at him, lips slightly parted and a smile pulling in one corner.  
“Ya asked fer it.”, he rasped against her mouth and she simply nodded, biting her bottom-lip, her hands wandering up over his shoulders and then down over his back, untucking his shirt and slipping under it a second later.  
Oh, how he loved that, the feeling of her hands on his body, on his skin.  
Arthur dipped down to catch her lips with his in a heated kiss and she humored him instantly, opening up for him and greeting his tongue with hers, playing, sucking, fighting.  
He could already feel how she shivered underneath him, her body responding to his caresses in the best of ways.  
He could read her like an open book, she wasn’t shy to show him how and what she wanted, even if she didn’t do it on purpose, she did and he liked that very much.  
Not the he had ever considered himself to be a good lover, but neither Mary nor Eliza had responded that intense to his caresses and he all but wallowed in every tiny response of her.  
Sophie’s hips bucked up against his and he groaned into the kiss, his cock already straining against the fly of his jeans, tiptoeing on the line between arousal and hurt.  
One of her hands wandered down, opening up the top few buttons of his jeans, while the other ghosted over his chest, down over his belly, leaving a hot trail everywhere it went, making him shudder and gasp under the touch of her hand.  
Arthur grabbed a fistful at the back of his shirt without caring to open it and hoisted it over his head, letting a fall to the ground beside them carelessly, then he tried to get a hold on them tiny buttons of Sophie’s shirt, but failed helplessly. So she let go of his jeans with a soft chuckle and plopped herself up on her elbows, prompting Arthur to sit back on his knees and helping her out of his shirt while doing so.  
He gulped at the sight of her, the candlelight flickering over her smooth skin, over every perfect curve of her body, every soft patch of her, nipples already hard and craving for attention.  
Arthur shifted closer, draped her legs over his thighs and leant down on his right hand, his head dipping all the way down to suck one of her nipples into his mouth, relishing in the soft moan she rewarded him with.  
Her upper-body pressed up against his mouth, one hand tangling into his hair, pulling slightly and he released her nipple with a little satisfying ‘plop’, shifting his attention to the other one, biting down gently, rolling the pink nub with his tongue against his teeth.  
She literally mewled underneath him, head lolled back in pure bliss, eyes squeezed shut and mouth hanging open as he worked his magic.  
Jesus fucking Christ, she was a sight to see.  
When he tried to shift back to her other breast, she tugged at his hair and he looked up, hooded eyes watching him, motioning for him to crawl upwards with a single roll and he complied, his body sliding up hers, prompting him to suck in an audible breath at the sensation of skin on skin.  
Her thighs embraced him again and he gave a single experimental roll of his hips, watching with glee how her eyes rolled back into her head, a whimper escaping her open mouth.  
He couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her in that moment, her lips soft and responding against his.  
She broke away a few moments later, cupping his face in her hands, thumbs smoothing over his stubble and gazing up at him with lustful eyes.  
“What about the ‘no-sex-in-camp-rule’?”, she breathed and he let out a low chuckle.  
“There’s no such rule, darlin’.”  
“But-“  
He cut her off, capturing her lips once more in a hot kiss, silencing whatever she wanted to complain about earlier.  
Arthur didn’t really care about the others in that moment, to hell with them. If everyone was close enough to eavesdrop them, their loss or win, however you would expound it.  
After their night over a week ago, he couldn’t stop thinking about it and it had annoyed him to no end, that they weren’t able to spend any time together at all. Always running around like an errand boy for Dutch and the others.  
So, fuck it.  
He sat up quickly, tugging her remaining piece of undergarment, a new one it seemed, off in one go and laying down beside her, hand creeping down her body, the muscles in her stomach clenched under his touch delicately and he worshipped her jawline and neck with kisses, sucking small bruises into her soft skin.  
She tasted like heaven, squirming and panting under his touch and he smiled against the tender spot right under her ear, biting down to tease her and she rewarded him with her short finger-nails digging into his back.  
“Ah, Christ, darlin’. All this fer me?”, he murmured into the hollow of her throat, his fingers working between her already soaked folds, finding the spot he was looking for, eliciting soft gasps and moans out of her instantly.  
“Oh, jeez-“, she breathed out and Arthur stayed there, circling the tiny nub under the tip of his fingers, switching between going a little faster and making slow circles.  
He could watch her like that every single minute of his life, trembling, melting, body tense and close to letting go but apparently she had other plans.  
Sophie grabbed his wrist and pulled, so he let go of her and gazed down at her in question, one eyebrow arched.  
“I want ya.”, she murmured, reaching down to fumble with the last button if his jeans.  
They plopped open and she guided him to lay on his back and he followed her order, watching how she helped him out of his remaining clothes.  
She crawled up his body after discarding the jeans somewhere near his other stuff, straddling him and dipping down to pepper his chest with open-mouthed kisses, prompting Arthur to suck in an audible breath.  
“Goddamn.”, he pressed out between clenched teeth, her open hair tickling a bit on his skin but he didn’t care.  
Sophie left a hot trail of sucks and kisses down his body, his stomach clenching delicately when she let her tongue slide into his navel, hands grabbing her thighs in a desperate manner.  
She continued further south and his breath got caught in the back of his throat, she wouldn’t-?  
Yes, she would.  
A guttural growl escaped his mouth the moment she licked over his tip, her hot tongue sliding all the way down and then up again, his cock twitching like crazy in response.  
“O-oh, fuckin’ damn-“, he couldn’t continue that sentence, because she used that moment to engulf as much of his length as she could into her wet mouth, her tongue swirling around the tip, eliciting another deep growl out of him.  
“Ah, shit!”  
When she started bobbing her head up and down, one hand closing around his shaft as well, he lost control over the sounds that escaped his mouth and Sophie chuckled sweetly around his cock, the sound vibrating through every cell of his body and after a few more minutes; he couldn’t take it any longer.  
He grabbed her roughly and pulled her up by her arms, drinking in the way her lips shone and were slightly swollen, leaning forward to capture this devilish mouth with his.  
“I wanna be inside ya, princess.”, he rumbled against her lips and she bit her lip in return, straddling his lap once more.  
Her hands came up to grab his neck to hold her steady, his skimming over her sides while she tried to find the right angle, stopping when the tip of his cock nudged her waiting entrance.  
Way too slow, agonizingly slow; she sank down his length and they both let out the breath they’d been holding, moaning in unison at the feeling.  
“Christ.”  
“A-ah, damn.”  
Arthur tried to be gentle and didn’t moved at all, giving her time to adjust to his size filling her up, but she quickly did and he slid in to the hilt during her following movement, groaning in pure pleasure.  
“Ya’re so fuckin’ tight, darlin’.”, he grumbled, fingers digging into the soft flesh of her hips and she moaned above him, head falling back the moment he gave a tentatively roll of his hips.  
Why did it felt so very different with her? So good?  
He didn’t know and he didn’t want to either, because she started moving in that moment, silencing every reasonable thought in his brain, filling his head with pure lust.  
They found an arousing rhythm, Sophie riding him like nobody ever had and changing his mind about that stupid position, he had never really liked before, quickly.  
Her hands grabbed his hair, bending his head back to have full access to his mouth, attacking it with sloppy kisses while she rolled her hips in unison with his, following the lead his hands provided her.  
He wanted more, though.  
In one swift motion, he rolled them around, still sheathed inside her, hoisted her legs around his waist and started pounding into her with force, silencing the loud moan she let out with his lips while she melted underneath him, thighs flexing around his hips.  
“M-more.”, she panted against his mouth and he humored her instantly.  
Arthur sat up slightly, pulled her back and grabbed her waist afterwards, lifting her butt up with one hand, so the angle changed in a pleasant way, slamming his hips forward once he was finished rearranging their limbs.  
Sophie gasped at that, eyes rolling back in her head, hands grabbing at the blanket beneath her in a death-grip, knuckles white from the effort.  
He was pretty sure anyone nearby could easily make out what was going on here, but that wasn’t his problem, not in the slightest.  
He could feel her tighten around his cock and he groaned at the sensation, feeling her come undone was better than everything else.  
Arthur let his hands ghost over her body, up to the swell of her breasts, pinching a pink nipple between two fingers, prompting Sophie to cry out in pure bliss, then further south over the already sweating skin of her belly, all the way down to her sex, his thumb snaking its way to the tiny bundle of nerves, rubbing in circles again, his other hand grasping at her hip.  
Sophie trembled underneath his ministrations, every part of her tense and ready to let go and he watched her in awe, her body beautiful in any possible way.  
“C’me fer me, darlin’”, he murmured and she moaned loudly, breath coming harsh and fast.  
After a few more forceful snaps of his hips and rubbing her clit under his thumb, she came undone, crying out his name way too loud and riding out her orgasm on his cock, he gladly helped though, rolling and slamming into her without mercy.  
He could feel his own climax rushing down on him quickly, the pulsating and tightening walls of her only spurring him on further, until he spilled himself deep inside her, groaning and huffing his release out.  
“F-fuuck.”  
Their movements died down after a few more gentle thrusts and he stilled, still inside her, gazing down on her with hooded eyes, trying to catch his breath again, a smile pulling on both of their lips.  
“They sure as shit heard me.”, Sophie whispered underneath him, hands wandering over his arms, cheeks red in embarrassment and he let out a deep chuckle.  
“Nah, only up to Rhodes, I guess.”  
“Fuck.”  
“I liked it.”, he responded honestly, cause he really did, and she smirked up at him.  
“Well, then- fine.”  
Arthur slipped out of her warmth and plopped down beside her, cradling her into his arms instantly.  
They were sweaty and out of breath, but he didn’t care.  
She snuggled up his side, face nuzzling his neck, planting a few kisses there as well and he let out a satisfied little groan, the hand on her back skimming up and down her body.  
Sleep pulled on his mind, but Sophie’s voice startled him back awake.  
“You wanna stay here?”, she asked quietly and he nodded his head in approval.  
“If ya okay with it.”  
He could rather feel than see her smile against his neck.  
“Sure.”  
She shifted in his arms, pulling the blankets underneath them out to drape them over their bodies afterwards, settling back into his arms again with a little content sigh.  
Arthur turned his head and gave her soft kiss on her forehead, tugging her even closer to his body, relishing in the feeling of having someone close again, cuddling and nestling against each other.  
He could get used to that.  
“Good night, cowboy.”, her sleepy voice filled his ears and he chuckled lowly in response, eyes finally shutting down.  
“G’night, darlin’.”


End file.
